Consequences of a delay
by HP-CrazyFan
Summary: when the 2nd letter -of the 5 letters arriving the day the dementors attached- arrive later than it was supposed to, Harry Potter channel Sirius' famous reckless thinking and takes matters into his own hand, but consequences get in the way. Canon compatible up till GoF, AU- right after the dementors attach in OoTP. warning: child abuse! (I suck at summaries, i know.)
1. Prologue

**Summary:** When Harry believes that he is expelled from Hogwarts he plans to flee his relatives' house before the ministry people reach him and snap his wand. Meanwhile, Uncle Vernon have had enough and he is about to make sure that his nephew's _Freakishness_ can no longer affect his 'normal' family.

**Warning**: Mention of child abuse and violence- _obviously! Seeing as we have Voldemort and the Death Eaters heavily featured._

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore: I don't own Harry Potter. I write for fun, and I am not making any profit out of it.

_**Consequences of a Delay**_

_**Prologue**_

As Harry Potter (a scrawny little boy of fifteen) lay on the floor of his dark bedroom in number 4 Privet Drive dying, he couldn't help thinking that this is not how he imagined his life to end. At least not after how the previous school year ended. He always imagined that he would go down on the hand of the darkest wizard of all times, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort had, after all, killed his parent fourteen years ago. He also tried to kill Harry that fateful night in Godric's Hollow, but he failed miserably and ended up as nothing more than a shadow. Not that it stopped the evil Lord. Voldemort tried to kill Harry two more times before he regained his body last June and tried once more. And after all of this, ironically, Harry laid here, broken and dying, in the muggle world and at the hands of his muggle uncle no less.

_It all started a couple of hours ago -he really can't tell how much time passed since then but it felt like forever- when Dudley and his gang cornered Harry on his way back home and starter to taunt him. He wasn't really in the mood for their antics, as a matter of fact, he was in a really fool mood because of the lack of information from his friend that he taunted them back. He mocked how they only pick on younger kids and how they usually relay on their number while bullying said kids. One thing let to another and he snapped and pulled his wand out. He wasn't really going to use it, of course, he just wanted to see the panicked look on his cousin face, and he did. What he didn't count on was the abrupt change of the weather and the sudden coldness that didn't belong to the early days of August. This feeling of coldness and despair can only mean one thing, _**dementors**_._

_Harry doesn't really know what happened next or when did he lose sight of Dudley's gang, but he did. On minute he was surrounded by them and the next he was running along side his cousin in the direction of number 4, Privet Drive. Then they appeared, out of the shadows, two of them. Chancing a glance in his cousin direction, Harry felt his stomach drop. Dudley can't see them, it was apparent that he was affected by their presence but he didn't yelp, jump or scream when they appeared which meant he can't see them._

_How was his cousin going to fight –or better yet, flight from- something that he can't see? Harry halted and grabbed his cousin's arm, yanking him to a stop as well. "Stop!" he added for good measure. It wouldn't do to let Dudley run straight into the awaiting arms of the dementors. Raising his wand arm with his wand still in hand he heard his cousin's squeak of fear but paid him no attention._

_He can't use magic but he had no option here. That moment of hesitation cost him, for in __a__ simple fluid motion one of the dementors glided toward him and reached out with a rotten, skeletal like hand and grabbed his throat. His cousin's arm slipped from his grasp as the dementor pushed him away. He collided, hard, against a solid surface. With the haze of the moment and under the dreaded effect of the foul creatures, he couldn't tell if it was the wall or the floor, for all he knows it might be the ceiling, but he did know that his feet were no longer touching the ground._

_When his mother's familiar scream filled his ears, he finally snapped out of it and brought his wand upward toward the rotten creature. Ron… Hermione… Sirius… _ANYONE_. Grabbing in the darkness that filled his brain for a thought, a feeling, anything that resembled happiness, Harry finally spoke out the __incantation__. A mist came out of his wand and pushed the dementor away. It was nothing like the majestic corporeal stag that he could usually conjure but it was enough to free him from the dementor's grasp and he fall to the floor in a heap -so he was held against the wall after all. Sensing the dementor re-approaching Harry panicked and started to fumble for a memory happy enough to create a strong patronus. _Hogwarts… Quidditch… Flying… Ron… Hermione… Sirius…_ Desperate, Harry companied all of the previous thought and pictured them all together then pushed them all out of his wand and shouted "Expecto Patronum"._

_Finally, prongs jumped out of the end of his wand and charged the dementor full force. When the decaying creature fled and Harry was sure that it won't be coming back, he started to look around. He found Dudley laying on the floor a couple of feet to his left with the other dementor on top of him. Bully or not, Dudley was still his relative, plus no one deserved the fate that lay ahead of Dudley if the dementor preformed the kiss on him. Turning his wand toward them, Harry watched as prongs chased the other dementor away._

_Half an hour after the ordeal, Harry was finally in the kitchen of number four, Privet Drive. His head felt like it might explode. Everything was upside down. Hogwarts and the magical world collided with the muggle suburb of number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey._

_Dementors in Surrey! Ms. Figg, his patty, old, 'muggle', cat lover babysitter with her cabbage smelling house knows Dumbledore! And she appears to be more informed about the current situation of the wizarding world than he is. His aunt, his freaking 'NORMAL' aunt of all people, is talking about Azkaban and Dementors! But the last straw was the arrival of the letter that he is currently holding._

_Harry was expelled from Hogwarts, the ministry people will be here shortly to snap his wand, all was lost. His uncle was positively gleeful, mumbling something about justice being served. But now that Dudley started to throw up again, his uncle went back to his furious self. Not that Harry was paying him any attention._

_Still stuck in his own head and thinking about his expulsion, Harry reached one conclusion, he has to run away. Hogwarts student or not, Voldemort will come after him eventually and when he comes Harry won't be waiting for him wandless and defenseless._

_With the letter still in hand, Harry left the kitchen. A small part at the back of his head registered that his uncle was still yelling furiously at him, but it also noticed that his uncle was preoccupied with the still retching Dudley. Harry reached the cupboard under the stairs and reached into his pocket to pull out his wand. Looking at it for half a second, his mind pointed out that he can't get in anymore troubles than he __is__ already __in__. Plus, he was scheduling a life on the run, he was already an outlaw. After a quick "Alocomora" followed by a "Reducio", his newly shrunken trunk was safely tucked in his pocket._

_He harried up the stairs, entered his bedroom and started to look around until his eyes found the object in question under his desk. He reached out and grabbed Dudley's old rucksack -he was allowed to use it back when he was in muggle School- and cast an undetectable extension charm on it then throw it on the bed along with his expulsion letter._

_He unlocked Hedwig cage with another spell then allowed her to jump on his extended arm before he took her to the window. "Hedwig, you have to go stay with Ron or Hermione for a bit, alright?" her answer was a hoot of protest. "I know girl, and I want to take you with me too, but I can't, not right now at least." He told her gently but still urgently. The owl gave him a long look then nipped slightly at his fingers before she jumped from his arm and took flight. Harry watched her for a moment as she disappeared into the nigh sky then he harried back to the bed and grabbed the rucksack._

_He had just finished shoving the few article__s__ of cloth__es__ that he owned into the rucksack when the door burst open. Uncle Vernon stood in the doorway fuming, his face was red with anger and it wouldn't be a stretch if Harry said that he could see fumes coming out of his ears. The vein in his forehead was throbbing dangerously and he was shaking all over._

"_What do you think you are doing?" Uncle Vernon bellowed._

"_Leaving." Harry replied calmly even if he felt anything but calm._

_He lowered himself to the floor and reached out for the loose floorboard under the bed. It didn't matter anymore; he was leaving here for good, so he wasn't worried about his relative finding out about his hiding spot. But before he could reach his target, Harry felt his uncle beefy hand clutch his ankles and pull him away from under the bed._

_Shocked, Harry turned to look at his uncle only to have a fist colliding with the side of his face. His uncle punched him! Dizzy and blinking Harry stared at his uncle. It's been years since any of his _respectable_ relatives lay a hand on him, not since he started Hogwarts. Even then, it was the occasional slap, pull of the hair or shove in the direction of the 'unsatisfactory' finished chore._

_He never received a full fisted strong punch to the face and never purely out of rage. But his uncle was not finished, with a well aimed kick to his wand arm, his uncle send his wand flying. A _clunk_ signaled the wand's contact with the far wall of the room, right under the bed. Then his uncle started talking, his voice was low but it was dangerous and angry._

"_I have had it with you boy!" Uncle Vernon hissed "you and your non-sense." He finished the sentence with another kick, this time it landed in Harry's unexpected stomach and knocked the breath out of him._

_Curling on himself, Harry tried to crawl toward the bed; he needed to reach his wand. But his uncle was still talking and he was definitely not done with Harry._

"_Do you honestly think that I'll let you run away like this?" his uncle hissed with spits flying out of his mouth "just like you did two years ago." Harry could feel his uncle's foot pressing on his left leg while he talked._

_The pressure on his leg halted his progress toward his wand and his uncle was still ranting "huh, you are dreaming boy." He howled madly "You will run and then those FREAKS will come and prop and poke into my son like they did with Marge. And in ten months you will be dumped on us again as if nothing happened."_

_Harry could feel the pressure on his leg increasing with every word and then he heard a loud and sickening _crack_ before pain shoot like fire in his affronted leg. Seeing the gleam of satisfaction in his uncle's mad eyes, Harry tried again to crawl out of reach but the large man took hold of Harry's unhurt leg and pulled him back __with__in reach._

_Letting go of the leg, his uncle tried to punch him in the face again but Harry put his arms up and blocked the punch, which increased uncle Vernon's rage and made him grab Harry's right arm and twist it behind his back. Crying out in pain, Harry tried to wrestle his arm free but failed, and with another _crack_ Harry's arm laid useless but painful on the floor. He hugged his arm to his chest and tried to shield it from any further damage._

"_You are not just a freak; you are a pathetic piece of trash." His uncle taunted "look at you."_

_Then Harry lost count of the number of kicks that he received. Most of them landed on his back, as he tried to shield his broken arm and his already bruised stomach, still his uncle managed to aim a few there along with two or maybe three kicks to his chest. One thing was for sure, every single kick managed to jolt his two broken bones and he was drowning in agony._

_He was pretty sure that his body was black and blue with bruises by now. Even his face, wither because he kept bumping it on the floor and the adjacent furniture in his futile attempts to escape or because of the few kicks and punches that his uncle managed to aim to his face, he wasn't sure._

_Finally, his uncle was reaching the end of his rant "This won't go on boy! Do you hear me?" his uncle wheezed out of breath "No. More. Boy." His uncle finished with three well aimed kicks to his spine. Then the door slammed shut and Harry could hear the multiple locks on his door echoing through the sudden silence._

_And that is how Harry found himself laying on the floor of his bedroom with the underside of his bed as his only view._

It was pitiful, at least form the raven haired boy point of view, that the last thing that he will ever see is the dusty floor under his bed. Battled, bruised and with only god know how many broken bones as he was, Harry couldn't lift a finger, let alone his head, to search for a better view. But as he swept his eyes over his limited view of the space under the bed, Harry could see the slightly raised edge of the loose floorboard where he kept his most treasured possessions.

Figuring that it was a better option, Harry kept his gaze on it instead. At least he will die looking at the things that linked him to the wizarding world, true he can't actually see them, but he knew that just below this piece of wood lay things that vary from magical leaping chocolate frogs to his father's old invisibility cloak.

Still staring in the direction of the loose floorboard, Harry closed his eyes and visualized reaching out under the bed and praying the loose board open. In his mind eye, he could imagine the content just like he last saw it. In the bottom most would be his photo album, then his school books and quills stacked on top of the album neatly, there won't be any parchment in sight because he is always careful to keep those in the books so they won't wrinkle. On top of the books he can find a couple of chocolate frogs and an unopened box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and some toffees. Covering all of this is his father's invisibility cloak.

Harry could imagine reaching in and grabbing the cloak and then hugging it closer to himself for a moment as if he can absorb some form of comfort out of it. Suddenly, death was not scary anymore, and dying on the hand of his muggle uncle in the middle of the wizarding war was not so ironic. At least in death he would see his parents.

Mentally, still holding the cloak, Harry was preparing to step under it and disappear from existence. Knowing that, physically, he will soon draw his last shuddering breath and also disappear from existence. He felt so calm and at peace, because he knew that when he finally step out from under the cloak, figuratively speaking, he will be greeted by the cloak's previous owner, and nothing would matter anymore because he will be with his parents. He will be _safe_.

**A/N:** I know that it is short and might seem a little repetitive, but it is not, I promise!

Leave me a review (pretty please *pats eyelashes*) constructive criticism is highly acceptable and encouraged. =)


	2. Chapter 1: Rescue

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore: I don't own Harry Potter. I write for fun, and I am not making any profit out of it.

_**Chapter **__**One**_

_**The Rescue **_

A soft hoot at the window still of the small bedroom of number 4, Privet Drive went unnoticed by the room's only inhabitant. It was not the room's occupant's fault, after all he was beaten an inch shy from death and was currently laying unconsciousness on the floor.

The owl responsible for the previous hoot entered the room looking for the person who will relieve her from her massage. When she finally spotted the unconsciousness boy on the floor, she flew down and landed on his shoulder then she hooted again but received no answer.

She nipped his ears slightly but again was greeted by silence. Getting annoyed by this strange human and his non-responding, she flew of off his shoulder and landed on the floor right in front of his face then hooted again.

Once, twice, and trice. Still no response. Getting tired from being ignored she finally flew up from the floor then out of the window going back home with the scroll of parchment undelivered and still tied to her leg.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

When the dawn broke out in Surrey announcing the beginning of a new day, the residents of Privet Drive Street stirred and started to wake up. The preparations for the new day ahead of those residents went on like it normally do. The sounds of doors opening and closing, engines burring to life and children running around in the street shouting their cheerful goodbyes for their departing parents was the theme of those early hours of every morning.

Number 4, Privet Drive was no exception to those early hours' activities. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley got up, showered, changed their cloths then ate breakfast together. After breakfast, Mrs. Dursley walked with her husband to the front door and kissed him goodbye like every morning before turning around and heading back inside. To the inexperienced eyes, everything was perfectly normal, but to Mrs. Petunia Dursley's expert eyes, some thing was definitely wrong. She harried up the stairs and went straight to he nephew's room but as she rested her hand on the door knob she hesitated.

She'll admit that she was occupied with her little Dudders yesterday, but she couldn't deny the mad gleam in her husband's eyes as he harried up the stairs after the boy. So, she tried to distract herself and focused more on her poor baby. Finally, Vernon came down the stairs, sweating and out of breath. She could only stair at his blooded shirt and shoe as he announced that he had taken care of the boy. She knew that deep down she understood what he meant with that but she was still denying it.

But now, now the boy's window was open and there was an owl sitting on his window still. What would the neighbors say if they saw it? She will just step in, shoo the damn bird, close the window and then step out. She took a long breath then opened the door, and with her eyes locked on the window she took quick and brisk steps toward it. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the figure on the floor but she just ignored it.

"Shoo!" she hissed out of the window "Go away you damn thing!" she continued while waving her arms franticly in the bird's direction.

The owl flow of the window still but didn't take off. It just kept flying right outside the window while looking annoyingly at the frantic woman.

"Shoo!" Petunia hissed again but the results didn't change.

Annoyed, she slammed the window shut. She doesn't care if the damn bird wanted to stay here, eventually the bloody thing will get hungry or tired and go back to where it came from. Turning around, she jumped up in surprise when she noticed a movement from the direction of the bed. An _**owl**_! Her head snapped to the window but the owl was still there, flying in annoyance in front of the closed window. _Another owl!_ How many people are trying to reach the boy exactly? It doesn't matter.

"fine." She snapped in the direction of the bed. "You can stay here and starve it you want to."

Without another word (or glance), she stormed out of the room and slammed the door and locks shut. Feeling exhausted and drained out, emotionally more than physically, she leaned on the wall in front of the boy's room. _It had to be done_, she told herself, _Vernon had no choice. He was protecting the family, he _is_ protecting us. _She took a deep breath and let it out. They were a normal family now, the boy and his abnormality can no longer affect them. _He won't hurt us; he won't hurt Dudley ever again_. She kept telling herself over and over until her heart slowed down and her breathing went back to normal.

Fixing her apron, she went down the stairs but her mind was still working. She entered the kitchen and busied her hands with preparing Dudley's breakfast while she thought. She still has to talk with Vernon tonight. If those freaks were desperate to talk with the boy –and judging by the number and persistence of those owls, they were- they will have to be prepared for a visit from them soon. They will have to think of a way to drive those freaks away without any confrontation, maybe if they told them that he ran away from here –which isn't that far fetch seeing as that is what the boy was actually planning- they will leave. Never mind now, they will think of something later.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Harry jumped out of unconsciousness with a startle, and then he cursed under his breath because his startled jump managed to jolt all of his injuries and the pain was threatening to take him down under once more. He didn't really mind being unconscious, it numbed the pain, a little. What he really mined was the fact that he was still alive; he was more annoyed for being so rudely awakened with out even knowing what had jerked him back to the land of the living. Then he heard movement right outside the door followed closely by his aunt's brisk footsteps going down the stairs.

Huh, what do you know! She was the reason that he is awake. Was she actually here in the room? But why? Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed that the curtains were no longer moving. _Ooooh, she was closing the window, of course, don't want the neighbors to smell the stench of death that will be coming out of it soon now, do we?_ He thought bitterly.

_Stupid death_, he thought angrily, _why wouldn't it claim me already?_ Why wasn't he walking toward the bright light at the end of the tunnel already? And where is the bloody tunnel anyway? _Stupid muggles and their myths got his hoped up for nothing! _Right now he didn't really care if death merely meant ceasing to exist. If you don't exist, you can't feel pain, right? _Come on already_, he hissed to himself, _die_.

Nope, not working, still alive and very much in pain. He sighted in annoyance and closed his eyes, maybe if he stopped thinking he'll fall back into unconsciousness.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Arthur Wesley sat quietly in the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place, the order meeting had just ended and most of the members were making their way back home whether through the floo or the front door. The only ones left with him were his wife, Tonks, Lupin and, of course, Black- as this was his family house.

His wife, Molly, was moving around the kitchen preparing dinner for those who stayed in Headquarters. His family was among those. They had all –minus Percy- relocated to Headquarters a couple of days ago. Hermione Granger, one of his son's best friends had joined them shortly after. Plans were already on the making for Harry Potter's arrival when the dementors attacked him and his relative. In the mess that followed, they were forced to postpone them.

He sent the boy a quick note urging him to stay put until Dumbledore fix the mess. For a second he was afraid that he was too late because he was at the ministry at the time of the attack and had to come back to use Errol in order to avoid using one of the ministry's owls, but Molly assured him later when he was finally back from the ministry for the night that the order communicated with Figg and that she assured them that Harry hadn't left the house.

Molly also told him that Sirius had sent a similar note to his godson advising him to stay indoors at all costs. Oh boy, with two massages from the ministry –one is informing Harry of his expulsion and another telling him that he was suspended until the hearing- one from him and another form Sirius, bring the total to four massages. The little suburb house in Surrey will be more like an owlery than a house.

Errol wasn't back yet, but he wasn't really concerned with that, the ancient owl usually took more than three or four rest breaks in each delivery no matter how short the distance.

"The owl that I sent to Harry isn't back yet." a voice said, unknowingly taking Mr. Wesley's same line of thought.

Looking up, Arthur saw the annoyed look on Sirius' face.

"I told her not to wait for a reply" he continued "It is almost a full day since I sent her."

"Maybe Harry told her to wait" Tonks, one of the youngest order members and also Sirius' cousin, said.

"If Harry wanted to reply he would have sent Hedwig, his own owl" Sirius retorted.

Tonks was about to answer him, trying to calm him no doubt, as he was getting rather fed up and depressed with being cooped up in this gloomy house, but she was cut off by Molly.

"Actually, I am with Sirius on this one. There is something worrying about this silence" she said, joining the conversation for the first time since the meeting was over.

Arthur turned in his chair to look at his wife, she was pointing her wand at the self stirring pot on the cooker but she was facing the table's occupant.

"How so?" he persuaded her to explain farther.

"Well," she said "don't you think that Harry would have sent something already? Even if we hadn't, he would have sent Hedwig by now demanding information.

"Look! Harry is a dear, really, I adore him like one of my own, but he is still a teenage and he had been through a lot lately. If I were him I would be bursting with annoyance by now." she explained.

"This is what I expected as well, but this silence is…" Sirius started but was cut off when a _whoosh_ of wings followed closely by a _smack_ announced the arrival of Errol.

They all stared at the unconscious owl at the foot of the wall after flying head first into it, then Lupin who was sitting silently so far stood up and carried the owl back to the table.

"Oh the poor thing" exclaimed Tonks looking at the owl "it hurt itself, look there is blood"

"It didn't" Lupin answered stiffly, he had also noticed the blood "this is human blood"

"What? How did you kno…" Tonks started then she looked sheepish "Oh, right!"

But Arthur didn't hear all of this, because as he looked down at the scroll he recognized that it as his own. He reached out and took it from the bird's leg and then looked up to find four eyes glued to his hand.

"It is my own note," Arthur finally found his voice "it wasn't opened; I don't think it was delivered."

But the undelivered status of the note wasn't their main concern at the moment, for the note was soaked in blood.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Ron Wesley was having the worst day ever, scratch that, it was the worst vacation ever. Not only was he stuck at this dark and gloomy house with endless chores, he was also denied any information regarding the outside world. It was frustrating to know that as he was stuck in the drawing room, the order was having a meeting just down stairs and they were discussing you-know-who and his followers.

Looking at his watch, Ron reasoned that the meeting was almost over- after all, his mother did tell them to come downstairs for dinner at seven and it was ten minuets to sever right now. He looked up and saw that both Ginny and Hermione were sporting angry scowls as they sorter the content of one of the cupboard. He could not really blame them; after all, he felt the same way toward the adults for being denied attending the order meeting.

"I think it is time to go wash up," he told the two girls "we will go down for dinner in ten minutes." He explained while taping on his watch.

As the three teens ascended the stairs toward their rooms, Ron was lost once more in his thoughts. His anger rose once more but this time it was for his best friend not for himself. Because even if he was denied information, living in headquarters insure that he get to hear a word or two every now and then. But Harry was stuck at the muggle world with his hatful relative and was completely cut out from the wizerding world.

…and then last night when the dementors attacked him.

When Ron finally reached his bedroom he noticed the snowy white owl waiting patiently for him on the window still and had to suppress a groan. He walked over to the window and opened it to let the bird inside but instead to landing on his extended hand to be relived of her message she simply flew gracefully and landed on Pig's perch.

"Hey girl," he said as he approached her carefully –wouldn't want a repeat from her last visit when she scratched him for his short message- because he could have swear that she was looking at him accusingly "I know that you are mad at me, and I know that Harry is as well. You have every right but I don't know what to do! But…"

Ron's rant at the bird was cut short when he noticed that she didn't have a message. He glared at the bird and she glared back. "Where the h…" again he was cut short when he discovered how ridicules he looks, arguing with an owl. He shook his head and left the owl to here own. As he washed up and got ready to dinner, he couldn't shack the feeling of foreboding that got hold of him since he saw the empty legged bird.

When Ron and company reached the kitchen 15 minutes after Errol's arrival with the unopened and blooded scroll they were faced by utter chaos. The number that was gathering in the kitchen was significantly smaller that the usual order meeting number but they were definitely louder. Everyone was shouting, the loudest among the group were Sirius and Mad-Eye Moody, who were standing on opposite sides of the table screaming at each other.

"He is my godson; I have every right to be there." Sirius bellowed.

"You are reckless, black." Moody grumbled back "You will blow the whole operation off and get yourself and the rest of us killed"

Ron looked around to the other occupant of the room and found Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle arguing in the far corner about something but Sirius and Mad-Eye's shouting match was drowning them out. He could also see his brother bill talking urgently with his father and his mother looking rather angry while in the middle of a conversation with the headmaster.

He was pleased to see Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt talking quietly in front of the fire place. those two are two of the calmest people that Ron had ever meet, if someone can be calm and collective enough to fill the teens in, those two can.

"You and your bloody constant vigilance will take forever to reach him" Sirius was still shouting.

"Sirius, please calm down, you…" Ron could hear Tonks trying to calm her cousin down before the floo flared to announce the arrival of someone else.

"'Lo everybody, what did I miss?" Mundungus Fletcher asked cheerfully, but before anyone could answer him, a shrill voice bellowed in the kitchen, successfully cutting out all the current conversations- and shouting.

"_You_!" Ron heard his mother screeched, and was rather glad that that particular '_you!'_ was not directed at him. "It is all your fault."

_What the hell happened?!_ Ron wondered still lost for words, and for the moment forgetting that he was actually headed to Lupin to ask what is going on. He was having a sense of déjà vu, his mother was shrieking just like that at the exact same person last night. _Wait a minute! Was that it?!_ Ron was starting to panic now. _Was Harry attacked again?!_

Ron was now determined to get answers regarding this chaos; he resumed his way toward Lupin and Shacklebolt but was stopped on his track. Someone grabbed his collar and was tugging him back.

"What the…" but he stopped mid sentence when he turned around and found himself face to face with his mother's fuming face.

"I said out!" she said sternly half-pulling, half- dragging him toward the door "and that mean all of you!"

Ron could see his siblings and Hermione standing outside of the kitchen looking rather annoyed.

"But Mum-" but his protests were cut short when the door slammed in his face.

"Well, that was informative" he said angrily to no one in particular, still facing the door.

"I think something else happened with Harry" Hermione said with worry in her voice and Ron turned sharply to look at her. _So he was right?!_

"Why do you say that?" Fred and George asked at the same moment.

"Sirius kept saying 'he is my godson', they were talking about Harry." she answered while worrying her lips between her teeth.

"What do you think happened?" Ginny asked sounding quite worried as well. "Surely it can't be worse than a dementor attack."

"You don't reckon the death eaters got hold on him, do you?" Ron asked, voicing their thoughts.

"I don't know." Hermione answered "I just wish they would tell us what is going on" she said sounding as frustrated as he felt.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

A full hour and a half later the rescue team was finally on the move. Remus was glad that they could finally convince Sirius to stay behind. He was at the moment waiting for them on one of the disused rooms that was going to serve as a temporally hospital wing for the order latest rescue missions. Dumbledore altered the ward on this room himself to allow the access of only the three portkeys that he and his two companions carried.

Because they don't know what they are walking into, the rescue team was divided into two teams. The bigger team would apparate to different locations all around Privet Drive in order to present cover from any unwanted companies. The smaller group which consists of Mad-Eye, Tonks and himself would floo to Ms, Figg's house and would be responsible for retrieving Harry and his relative to the Headquarter.

Mad-Eye will retrieve the adults; Tonks will head for the cousin while he will head for Harry since he is the only one who Harry is familiar with. When Remus finally stepped out of the fire place at Ms. Figg's house he found Mad-Eye already positioned next to the window and looking outside, waiting for the signal that say 'all was clear' and that they could cross the street to number four. Tonks was talking with Ms. Figg and was looking rather puzzled.

"What is the matter?" Remus asked.

"The Dursleys are not home." Ms. Figg said.

"Looks like we won't be needing the other two portkeys after all." Mad-Eye grumped.

"But Harry is hurt." Remus said "It was his blood on the scroll, how could they leave him hurt and go outside"

"maybe-" Tonks starter but Mad-Eye spook before she could get more that one word out.

"This is our signal, let's stop guessing and go ask the lad, alright?" he growled.

After five minutes they were finally ascending the stairs to the second floor of number four Privet Drive.

"Are we sure that Harry is here?" Tonks asked "It seems awfully quite."

Mad-eye stopped in front of each door for a second and Remus could tell that he was scanning the rooms for any sign of the target of their mission. Finally he stopped in front of one door that had several locks on it and after his magical eye scanned beyond the door he scowled so deeply and japed his wand at the locks to unlock them. After putting a hand on the door knob he turned and looked at Remus and seemed rather sympathetic.

"It is not a nice sight" he said not unkindly "maybe you should wait here"

Remus felt his heart jump all the way up to his throat. He pushed past Mad-Eye and turned the handle to open the door then froze at the door way in shock. Harry was down on the floor on his side, he was facing the bed with his back toward them. As Remus got closer he noticed that he was cradling his right arm to himself and that his left leg took an awkward angle. He also noticed how pale and clammy he looked but what worried him the most was the large pool of dried blood that was covering most of the floor.

"Harry!" he whispered "Harry, can you hear me?"

It took a couple of minutes to finally get Harry around since Remus was really reluctant to touch him, in fear of jolting any yet unnoticed injures. But eventually he had to put a hand on Harry's shoulder and when Harry finally came around he wasn't fully consciousness and appeared to be in so much pain.

Remus could feel Harry skin burning even through the fabric of his shirt and when Harry's eyes looked at him they were blurry and unfocused, he kept blinking at him owlishly.

"Harry!" Remus urged again.

"P-P'fsor!" Harry's word was slurry but recognition shone through his face.

"Yes, Harry." Remus answered "we will get you out of here."

"Y-yes." relief was very clear in Harry's face.

"Where are your things?" Remus asked as he looked around the room.

"Trunk" Harry started then swallowed hard. "Pocket."

"Your school trunk is in your pocket" Remus clarified.

Harry nodded then snapped his eyes shut in pain at the movement.

"Rucksack" Harry rasped "bed"

Remus Looked up and saw the rucksack but before he moved he found Tonks standing by the bed and reaching out for it.

"Is that all Harry?" Remus asked.

"Y-Ye-" Harry started then looked panicked "NO!"

"It is alright Harry, we will bring everything." Remus assured him "What else?"

"Wand, a-and…" Harry took a shuddering breath "loose board… under bed."

"Where is the wand?" Remus asked as he moved to look under the bed. But when no reply came he panicked quickly "Harry!"

"I'll look under the bed, you stay with him." Tonks said as she moved behind him.

Harry was already unconscious, so Remus grabbed the thin Duvet that lay on his bed to wrapped it around him, as he grabbed the material something ruffled and took off the bed. It was and owl. Tonks squeaked then looked ashamed of herself for the rather undignified sound before composing herself and looking at Remus.

"Erm, is that his owl?" she asked

"No, his owl is snowy white" Remus asked confused, he had only seen the owl once but he was quite sure because of how stunning the owl looked.

"Oh, that is actually the owl that Sirius sent," Tonks said recognizing Sirius' hand writing on the parchment. "I'll open the window for her to leave once we are done here."

Tonks then reached under the bed and come back with a floorboard then dived back under the bed and kept retrieving items and putting them in the rucksack.

"That is all the things in the hiding place under the bed" she announced "but I can't find his wand"

"Try '_accio'_" Remus suggested.

"Oh" Tonks turned bright red before she _accio_ed the wand from under the bed.

Mad-Eye limbed back into the room and growled at them, annoyed that they were taking that long. When they were sure everything is backed and Harry was securely wrapped in his duvet, Remus scoped him up in his arm and followed Mad-Eye back down the stairs.

Once he crossed the gate of number four Privet Drive and were sure that they were will beyond the ward, Remus reached into his pocket and extracted the inkwell that Dumbledore transformed into a portkey for him and his charge and tapped it with his wand and it wasn't a second later that the street vanished from around him and was replaced with their makeshift 'hospital wing'.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Sirius was going out of his mind with worry; he can't believe that he let them convince him to stay behind. He only agreed because he wanted them to go on already and get Harry out of there but he thought that they would be back already.

He had done all he could think about. Retrieve madam Pomfrey, (Check!). Tranfegrate the couch, two armchairs and the coffee table in the room into four hospital beds, (Check!). Make sure there are plenty of emergency and first aid potions, (Check!). Now both he and madam Pomfrey were pacing the room in anticipation.

The door opened and both of them looked up but it was only Molly.

"I made sandwiches for the kids to eat up in their rooms and then sent them to bed" she informed them "I though it would be better if we were not interrupted once they come back with Harry and his relatives."

"Yeah, that is good" Sirius answered seemingly distracted.

"Sirius…" Molly started but never got to finish as the figure of Remus metalized in the middle of the room.

Sirius was annoyed when he noticed that no one is standing beside him but he paled as he recognized what -or rather who- Remus was holding.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted as he heard Molly and Pomfrey gasp from behind him.

Remus was barely standing still for half a second after he arrived, then he rushed to the nearest bed and lowered Harry gently on it. Madam Pomfrey was hot on his heal and as soon as Harry was safely on the bed she pushed him out of the way and started to cast diagnostic spells. Sirius was already on the other side of the bed with his hand hovering over Harry's left arm seeming like he wanted to hold it to make sure that his godson was really there. It was very obvious that he was exercising a great deal of self-restraint to keep his hands in the air.

Remus turned around the bed and came to stand beside his friend, leaving the space beside madam Pomfrey to Molly since she had more knowledge in the medical area and was more likely to be helpful to the mediwitch rather than a burden.

"Moony," Sirius breathed

"I know" Remus told his childhood friend, neither of them could stand the broken form of their best friend's son.

They both heard a _thud_ and turned around to find Tonks tangled on the floor with the discarded duvet; Remus went over to help her.

When she was finally upright she put Harry rucksack beside the door and then turned and gave Sirius an envelope. Sirius looked at her puzzled.

"We found the owl you sent to Harry in his room with the scroll unopened" she explained "when I opened the window for her to let her out, I found another owl waiting outside the window"

"It is from the ministry of magic" Sirius observed as he took the envelop.

"Yeah, I think that this is the one where they told him that he was suspended rather than expelled till the hearing" Tonks said with a grimace "I found the first one on his bed beside the rucksack and put it in there."

"Alright" Sirius said seemingly in a daze then he looked back to the bed and saw that the mediwitch was still fussing around his godson.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Half an hour after being kicked out of the kitchen found Hermione sitting on her bed in the room that she shared with Ginny in Grimmauld Place patting her cat. She was fuming! How could they kick them out like that when something was obviously wrong with Harry? How could they expect them to sit quietly like that with no explanation at all? Especially after what happened last night!

A hiss drove her out of her thought and she had to force herself to calm down after her pats turned rather forceful and drove and the angry Crookshanks out of her arms and under the bed. After taking a couple of calming breathes she looked up to see Ginny pacing the room in a similar mood.

Feeling her recently calmed anger rising again, this time with a hint of fear for her absent friend, she stood up. Ginny stopped and looked at her in confusion.

"Come on, let's go see Ron." She told the other girl and then left the room heading to Ron's room.

After knocking and hearing the soft "come in", she opened the room and looked around for her friend. When her eyes finally landed on him, sitting on his bed with his back probed on the headboard, she open her mouth to speak but was shocked into silence when she noticed the snowy white owl that was perched on his arm.

Ron didn't look up; he just kept running his fingers gently down the owl's feathers with an air of defeat.

She heard Ginny sigh next to her, then the younger girl passed her and she headed to sit by her older brother.

"Budge aside, well you?" Ginny nudge Ron and then sat next to him when he moved. "When did she come?" she asked indicating the owl.

"I don't know" was Ron's reply "I found her in here when we came up stairs to wash before dinner, and then with what happened down there I forgot to say that she was here."

Hermione frowned as she looked at her friend. "What did Harry write about the attack?" she asked as she moved closer to the two Wesley siblings.

"He didn't. Hedwig came without messages." Ron's shoulders slumbered after he said that. Hermione sat heavily on the bed starting to get a really nasty feeling in the bit of her stomach as she began to realize what got Ron in this mood.

"She didn't?" Ginny asked finally with confusion evident in her voice.

Ron finally looked up from the owl and looked eyes with Hermione. "What if she'd been here all day? I didn't return to the room since I left this morning for breakfast."

Hermione really didn't know what to say. Ron was looking at her with an unreadable look on his face; his eyes almost pleading her to say something that would make him feel better. As she opened her mouth, to say what she didn't know, but just to say anything, a loud _Crack!_ interrupted her and she was almost thankful to the twins for saving her and distracting Ron.

"Where were you two?" Ron started but upon seeing his older brother's serious faces he asked in a hurry. "What is the matter? Is it Harry?"

Hermione was taken back as well with the uncharacteristic look on the twins' faces. The twin moved closer and sat down on the unused bed that was to be Harry's when he finally joins them.

"He is hurt." One of the twins said.

"We don't know what happened." The other continued.

"Neither does the order, apparently."

"Kingsley -he is the one standing guard tonight- say's that there was nothing unusual."

"Then why does the order think that he is hurt." Ginny asked.

"Dad sent Harry a note yesterday and apparently it came back sometime after the order's meeting. It was unopened and blooded."

Silence fall on the group of teenagers as they processed the information.

"Bloody hell!" Ron finally said. "Damn it Hermione! Something happened and he sent Hedwig to warn us and we didn't help him because I didn't see her."

"Ron…" Ginny started but Ron cut her off by jumping of the bed.

He started pacing around the room muttering quietly to himself. Hermione could hear the occasional _some friend_, _danger_, _bloody dementors_ and _damn guards_. When the twin, Ginny and Hermione finally managed to calm him down they all sat quietly, each of them lost into their own thoughts. The twin stood up said they have to see to something in their rooms then left with a _crack!_

Mrs. Wesley brought them sandwiches for dinner and told them to eat in the room, said that she well be back in a bit then she left the room pointy ignoring all of their questions and inquiries about what is going on.

Hermione felt her anger rise and was adamant to get some answers when Mrs. Wesley returns. But when the older woman came back to retrieve the almost untouched tray of food –which was saying a lot about Ron's current mood- Hermione felt her anger deflating. The woman looked tired and there was a hint of fearfulness in her face.

After being ushered along with Ginny back to their room and ordered to bed, Hermione simply caught the older woman's wrist as she moved to leave the room and looked into her eyes pleadingly.

"Please, at least tell me… is he okay?" she asked as she felt the tears prickling her eyes.

Mrs. Wesley's face softened as she patted Hermione's hand.

"We don't know yet, dear." She told her "But we will find soon enough. Now get some sleep so you'd be properly rested when he comes." And with that she turned and left the room.

**A/N:** alright folks, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't know if you have noticed, but I edited it a bit, actually I edited it A LOT! It is almost twice as long as it used to be when I first posted it.

And of course, leave me a review. Constructive criticism is highly acceptable and encouraged. =)


	3. Chapter 2: The Malfoy Heir

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore: I don't own Harry Potter. I write for fun, and I am not making any profit out of it.

A/N1: okay every one, you might be interested to know that I edited the last two chapters so please go back and re-read them if you don't wish to miss anything. The 2nd chapter espichially since it is the one that is heavily edited, I think it is safe to say that the chapter in currently twice the size of the original one.

A/N2: I've got a review, I've got a review! (Jumps around while hugging the laptop!:D).

Thank you ever so much JilyHinnyRomione15! This chapter is dedicated to you; I hope you are a pro- Slytherin, seeing as there is a lot of them here.

_**Chapter **__**Two**_

_**The Malfoy Heir.**_

Draco Malfoy, son and heir to the Malfoy's ancient and noble house, sat in his godfather's quarters in Hogwarts wondering how his life turned out to be like this. Five years ago, he was on his way to become the perfect heir to his family's name. He was a proper pure blood with proper thoughts and expectations. Then he came to school and was sorted into Slytherin among his own social circle and expected everything to carry on like it was supposed to be.

Then his dorm mates started talking about the dark lord and his ideas. For the first two years, he was intrigued if not a little put out with his father. He couldn't understand why his father had publicly renounced the dark lord and claimed to be under the _Imperius_ Curse.

Then before his 3rd school year, his father took him aside and explained that it was in the family's best interest not to be associated with the dark lord at the time; A Malfoy always look for his and his family's best interest first and foremost. But he made it clear that the Malfoy family was and will always support the dark lord's ideas since, after all, the dark lord and the pure bloods share the same ideas.

That year, Draco openly announced to his friends and dorm mate his full support to the dark lord's case and proudly proclaimed to his dorm mates that he would've joined the dark lord's death eaters if he had a chance. In his mind, it didn't really matter since the dark lord was no more, no matter what his father though, the man was gone. It wasn't before the beginning of the summer that Draco started to feel he was way over his head.

It started when his father announced that it was about time that Draco makes acquaintance with the old crowd and gets to know how everything was in their glory days. At first Draco didn't understand what it meant; all he knew was that at the night of the quidditch world cup he would get a glimpse into how life was when the dark lord was around and that made him excited.

But when the night finally came it was nothing like he ever imagined. There was chaos, screaming and people were running everywhere. He couldn't understand what was so appealing in this madness, and then things only got worse when he cast the _Cruciatus_ Curse three different times with no apparent effect at all.

His father was livid; he kept shouting at him and saying that he wasn't trying hard enough. His father kept saying that if Draco really believed the pure blood case he should be able to master enough hatred for the curse to take effect.

The fact that most, if not all, the other death eaters' kids were able to use the blasted curse at least once effectively drove his father insane. It appeared that Draco was the only one who was embarrassing his family like that. For a moment, Draco really thought that his father was going to curse him were he stood, until…

Until the dark mark rose high into the sky. In a moment, it wasn't only muggles and muggle lovers who were running every which way in panic. The death eaters where more panicked than the lot of them. It was the first time in Draco's whole life that he seen his father in a less than his normally composed state of mind. When they were finally behind the safety of the manors ward, his father's panic turned to anger and he started demanding to know who was stupid enough to cast the dark mark.

When his father finally calmed down enough he took him aside and told him in no nonsense way to get a grip and start to live to the family's name or else. Draco really didn't want to know what will happen if he failed to live up to the family name, especially, after he saw that mad glint in his father's eyes that night he couldn't cast the _Cruciatus_.

To say the truth, Draco was truly glad when he finally reached the school. He already knew about the Yule Ball and knew that he won't be going home for Christmas, which gave him the whole school year to sort out his family dilemma.

What he wasn't counting on was his father poping in the school every couple of weeks. As one of the school governors he had the right to check that everything was running smoothly, especially, with an event of the magnitude of the Triwizard Champion running in the school this year and with the two guest schools taking residence in the castle.

In every _check_ that his father made for the castle he always demanded to have a word in privet with him and Severus, as his godfather as well as his head of house, almost always obliged. He didn't blame Severus at all, because he was rather sure that the man didn't know the nature of those visits at the time. Every time he thought about those 'visits' he shuddered involuntary.

_***Flashback***_

He was sitting on his bed, he did that a lot lately, he no longer liked sitting among his peers in the common room. At the moment, he was reading a book about the unforgivable curses; his father gave him that book before school started. Back then, he thought that he had the whole year to read and re-read the book, but now they were just two months in the school year and he had seen his father more that 3 times.

In the first two times, his father merely talked with him, asked about the book and re-freshed his memory with the same threats that were promised before school year started. Then at the third time, he was shocked to see a young Gryffindor boy following his father into Snape's office. At first he sneered at the boy and was about to order him out but then he noticed how the boy's eyes were glassy and unfocused. He was under the _Imperius_ Curse.

It wasn't until his father ordered him to start _practicing _on the boy that he figured out the extent of his shitty situation. After over ten tries, he was as unsuccessful as ever. They boy didn't so much as whimpered under his curses. Needless to say, his father was furious. He got even more so when nothing changed in his next visit except for the victim, a second year Hufflepuff this time.

He tried to push all thoughts of his father's visits out of his mind and turned his focus back to the book. He needed to finish this chapter before any of his dorm mates came back; it won't do for them to know how deeply he had shamed his family with his failure.

When he was at the last paragraph of the chapter, someone knocked on the door startling him out of his wits so badly that the book nearly flowed out of his hands. Fortunately, he recovered just in time to push the book hastily under his pillow before the door opened.

"What do you want?" he snarled at the frightened first year that stood shaking at the door frame.

"Professor Snape requests your presence in his office urgently." The young boy squeaked they harried back to the common room.

In less than ten minutes, Draco was knocking on his godfather's office door.

"Come in" barked Snape's voice, "Oh, Draco, you are here" his godfather continued in a calmer voice once he saw him.

"Professor" Draco replied with a nod, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes" Snape said in a tired voice leaning back into his chair and rubbing his eyes with his left hand while he moved his wand with his right hand sending the parchments that he was grading to land neatly at the corner of his disk.

"Is something the matter?" asked Draco in apparent concern. Snape almost never lower his guards and act human in front of anyone, not even his godson.

"No, not at all. I think that is it for me tonight." He answered as he stood up, "I just wanted to inform you that your father is in the castle, he wishes to sees you again" Snape carried on as he made his way toward the door.

Draco felt all color draining from his face.

"Make yourself comfortable" He said pointing to the chair in front of the fire, "I'll be turning in now, make sure to lock the door when you leave."

"Okay" Draco rasped.

Finally, Snape looked up at him, "Draco," He said sounding alarmed, "Are you alright?"

Draco was sure that he looked just like a croups now, for he is usually paler than most of his peers.

"Yes" He choked out then cleared his voice. He wasn't really looking forward to his father visit and his _practice_.

"Are you sure?" came the professor's voice.

"Yes I'm sure" Draco almost snapped back drawing himself to his full height.

"Indeed" his professor sneered sounding more like himself then he lift the room.

It was a whole 15 minute before his father finally joined him. He used the time to try and prepare himself for the inevitable task ahead of him. But when his father came he was alone, there was no young student for him to torture.

In his relief, Draco didn't see the look of utter loathing on his father's face nor did he see his father's wand turned on him.

"_Crucio_" his father snared at him and he was instantly engulfed in agony.

Two hours later, a shaking and sweat drenched Draco was making his was back to the Slytherin dormitory. It was well past curfew, so he wasn't worried about being seen. The only one who patrols the dungeons is professor Snape and he should be asleep at the moment.

When he finally made it to his bed, he threw himself on it fully clothed and pulled the curtain shut. After an effective privacy charm, he curled on himself and sobbed himself sleep.

_***End of Flashback***_

Draco pulled himself out of his thoughts; he didn't want to remember those _visits_. They became more frequent, almost weekly, and nothing changed in them since the 5th visit.

He would be summoned into his godfather's office, endure two long and painful hours with his father, then crawl back to his bed shaking and sweating where he would cry himself to sleep.

The tortures weren't limited to the _Cruciatus_, sometimes when his father would get bored he would throw the occasional stinging hex here and there. Draco wasn't stranger to the cutting curse either, for he usually received a couple of them before the night was over. It took every once of dignity that Draco had in him not to end in the infirmity by the end of every torture session begging for relive.

He embarrassed himself and his family enough already, he wasn't about to humiliate himself further. He was adamant that he would suffer his punishments in silence.

Then came the day where everything turned upside down, the day of the last task. He could remember that day clearly, for he had his last torture session on it. His father decided that since they had no idea when the task will end, it would be better to have his private visit with Draco before the task.

He was so glade that his father left him and went to join the audience after their _visit_ was over. He was sure that his he would receive further punishment if his father saw how pathetic he was. After he stopped shaking he adjusted his cloth and cast a couple of refreshing charms then made his way to the Quidditch stands alone.

It was the first time that he had to face his peers right after his punishment and he was panicked that they might see through his mask of indifference. But he needn't worry; they were so exited with the event that they didn't even notice him when he reached the Slytherin's part in the stand.

He remembered passing his head of house on his way to the stand, he looked at him with unwavering eyes but after a long moment the older man looked away without saying anything. Draco merely sneered and carried on to his seat.

He remembered everyone's Ohhhs and Ahhhs for Merlin knows what, but he doesn't remember a thing from the task itself, he was pretty preoccupied with how much pain he was in. What he remembered clearly was the panic and chaos that started the moment Potter and Diggory disappeared.

Teachers and ministry people alike were running around like headless chickens. He remembered the headmaster ordering the students to stay where they were and remembered –to his horror- feeling grateful toward the old man. He was sure that the only way for him to reach the dungeons at that moment would have been through crawling on his hands and knees.

He doesn't know why had done it, but he found himself searching for his father in the stands. At first he couldn't see him but after a quick glance around he finally found him; he was leaving the Quidditch pitch with long strides. When he looked back he was startled to notice that he wasn't the only one watching his father's retreating back. Snape was also watching him with a thoughtful look on his face.

After what felt like hours but couldn't really be that long, a light flashed in the middle of the clearing that stood in front of the maze and two figures metalized there. Teachers, students and ministry people rushed as one to attend to the new arrivals. Then a scream pierced the night, it was horrible and in a flash it was joined by other screams and shouts.

By then, Draco had totally forgotten about his pain and was joining the panicked students in an effort to find out what was going on. He couldn't reach the two figures; the crowd was increasing by the second around them. But he could hear murmurs and shouts. Someone to his right kept saying "He is _DEAD_, he is _DEAD_."

Several hours later found Draco crouching in a hidden corner next to the hospital wing. He was in a state of shock; he couldn't believe what he had heard. The Dark Lord was back, he killed a student already, and Potter had dueled him and escaped. Shock turned to confusion and confusion to anger and then denial.

NO! This can't be true. The Dark Lord can't be back. If he is back then Draco is dead already. His father will kill him; he'll make sure that Draco's short coming won't affect the family's name.

Draco shook his head and stared at the fireplace in Severus' quarter as he remembered the days that followed. Everything went in a flash, and before he knew it, he was home. His mother was the one to meet him at the station. She looked pale and rigid. After she apperated them to the manors front gate, she looked at Draco for a long moment then informed him in a tense voice that they had guests staying at the house for the unforeseen future.

He didn't see anyone on his way to his room but he could hear voices behind the Drawing room's closed door, a lot of voice actually. Apparently they had a lot of guests at the moment. Draco shuddered momentary when he finally figured what the implication of this new information meant; the manor was the Dark Lord's current Headquarter.

This meant that Draco will have to come face to face with the man whether he liked it or not.

That night, his father entered Draco's room with a sneer on his face. Draco was just readying himself for the usual torture session when he saw his godfather joining them. He looked at them in confusion and his silent questions where answered when his father told him to re-pack his school trunk and his godfather followed up by informing Draco that he will be joining him in his school quarter for a while.

When Draco didn't move, his father snarled at him and said that if his school progress weren't as disgraceful as there were he wouldn't need the extra tutoring. Draco still couldn't understand what all of this was about since his grades were in the top five but he wasn't going to complain if it meant leaving the manor and its current frightening inhabitants.

Which explain why he is residing in his professor's quarter in the middle of the summer vacation.

When they first came back to school, Severus explained curtly that he approached his father and that they talked about Draco. He said that they had reached the decision that it wasn't in Draco's best interest for the Dark Lord to take notice of him right now.

He didn't really understand but that didn't mean that he disagreed. In fact, he thought it isn't in his best interest for the Dark Lord to take notice of him, ever.

The days went on and Draco discovered that Severus wasn't a bad company. The dark potion master wasn't a sociable bee but he wasn't bad either. Draco came to learn of and respect his private nature. He also became accustomed to his frequent and sudden disappearances.

He remembered his father once commenting about Severus' efforts to the Dark Lord case and how he was their eyes and ears into the light's side. Since the Dark Lord in back then Severus must have resumed his spying role for him.

Draco was pulled out of his thoughts as the flames turned green announcing a new arrival. For a minute, Draco felt his shoulders stiffening in anticipation before the figure finally stepped out of the flame.

"Draco" Remus Lupin acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"Lupin" he sneered back.

The werewolf looked around before asking "Is Severus here?"

Draco studied him for a minute before gesturing toward the potion's lap. After he was left on his own he started to ponder. The usually kind and easy going man seemed distracted and in a hurry. He wondered what was going on for a moment before he ventured near the open door of the potion lap hoping to catch a word of what is going on.

"Pomfrey in doing all she can, and Molly is helping her out but we are running out of options and our potion supply is running short." The wolf was saying.

There was the unmistakable sound of clicking vials and Draco knew that Severus was going through his pre-prepared potions.

"Indeed" came the potion master reply. "Here, those are the potion that she wrote for."

"Thank you, Severus." The wolf replied in gratitude "I'm indebt for you."

"Nothing new" the potion master said sarcastically "what did the mutt do now? If I may ask"

"Those are not for Sirius" Draco could hear the edge in his former professor's voice; he sounded wary and almost defensive.

"I don't think any of the other order members would need most of the potions that you need" Severus voice answered sounder annoyed and tired. "There are potions for malnutrition and high fever, the last time I was asked for those two, the headmaster was providing them to the mutt to help him recover from Azkaban"

"I said they aren't for him" Lupin said as he turned to leave.

Draco was about to retreat to his room to avoid being discovered eavesdropping. But Severus spook up again stopping Lupin in his track.

"There are also potions for internal bleeding and severely broken bones" Snape spook evenly "she didn't ask for anything that is caused with a specific spell damage, it is almost like the injuries were inflicted in a muggle fight, I can't see any of the order members being that stupid, carless or barbaric."

It appears that Lupin's patience finally ran out, he turned to glare at his ex-colleague. "For the last time, it was _not_ Sirius." He exhaled deeply and ran his hand in his hair "It is Harry, alright?"

"_Potter_" both Snape and Draco spat it at the same time. Then Draco had to shut himself up before they could hear him. Of course, _Saint Potter_ felt like being the hero again and ran around fist fighting who knows who, and now they are running for Severus and asking him for help to patch the _Hero_ up. He almost whished Severus would deny them the potions.

"What did he do now?" the potion master sneered at the wolf.

"I don't really have time to get into this fight, Severus" Lupin answered tiredly "if you really wanted to know, you'll have to come to Headquarters, the truth is: we don't know what happened. We found him half dead in his relative's house and there was no one around to ask. We will only know what happened when he wakes up and talks to us but I believe the situation is pretty clear." Draco cowered away from the door when the last sentence was spoken, the man almost growled it.

Draco retreated to the shadows just in time for the two to emerge from the potion lap. Lupin took long strides toward the fireplace and was gone in a blink of an eye, but Severus stood in the door way with a peculiar look in his face.

Finally, Draco approached him "Sev."

Severus shook his head briefly before he looked to Draco "I have to check something out, I'll be back shortly" he said curtly before he stride to the fireplace and disappear in the flames.

Draco pondered slightly over the matter but then he shook his head violently and went back to the couch scowling at himself. He would not allow Potter to screw his vacation, as if he didn't have enough to think about.

But then something occurred to Draco, he was tense when the fireplace lighted up because he feared his father would step out of it, and he relaxed –he freaking _**relaxed**_- when a werewolf stepped out of it instead of his father. Hell really froze over.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

When Severus Snape stepped through number 12 Grimmauld Place's fireplace for the second time in so many hours he was rather surprised to find the house so empty and _quite_. The number of the house inhabitants alone would make this an impossible feat.

Snape turned sharply when he heard a sudden movement over the other side of the room, but it turned out to be the resident house elf. The elf scowled at him and then seemed to be fighting with every word as he bowed to Severus and spoke angrily "What can Kreatcher do for the unworthy half-blood guest?"

Severus chose to ignore the insult, for now, and settled on sneering as he looked down at the old elf "where is Lupin?"

"Upstairs, but Kreatcher is not allowed there. Oh no, Kreatcher had to watch the filthy mudbloods and half beasts walking…" Severus ignored the mumbling elf once more and left the room heading for the stairs.

When he finally reached the first floor he could hear a commotion at the end of the hallway. Upon reaching the open doored room he could see four hospital beds but only one of them was occupied. He recognized Poppy and Molly as they fussed over the figure lying on the bed. He also recognized the back of the mangy mutt, Sirius Black. He looked around searching for Lupin and found him bowing over a small table shifting through the potions that Severus had just given him.

"Found it" Lupin announced as he approach the bed with what looked like a bone mending potion.

"Wait… why are you restraining him?" Sirius asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"We can't risk him moving around as his bones mend. It will be quite painful to say the least" the mid-witch answered with a grimace. "Actually you might need to hold him down even with the restrains, just mind his injuries as you do so."

Severus didn't know what came upon him but he felt himself moving forward and toward the bed, feeling almost compelled to see the still figure on the bed. He reached the bed just in time to see Poppy retracting the empty vial away from the unconscious boy's mouth. Molly started to wipe the boy's lips as she gently lowered his head back onto the pillow.

It took the potion 10 seconds to start working; Severus could see its effects on the boys face. Frown eyebrows, eyes squeezed shut, mouth thin as a line and, of course, the general muscle tensing that told the observers just how painful the effects of the potion were. As the pain increased, the boy started to tremble slightly but in no time at all the battled and bruised form of the young Gryffindor was trashing violently against his restrain while he screamed his head out.

"Hold him down, Black!" hissed the mid-witch as she was waving her hands over the trashing boy. "You too Remus."

"No, no don't hold his wrist, it's broken." Molly told Black.

"Watch out for his head… no, no hold him gently… mind his rips!" Poppy kept scolding the two men in every move they made.

"I don't know where to hold him. I can't find an injury free inch on him." Black snapped back.

Snape have had enough, he turned on his heels and left the room without saying a word. As he made his was back to the fireplace he was starting to get angry, on who exactly, he didn't know. On himself, for almost believing what Lupin was hinting at? On Lupin, for trying to instill such a thing? Or on the boy hero himself, for daring to consume everyone's time and effort?

Surely what the order thought happened is not true, right? This is everyone's Golden Boy after all. He is an arrogant, spoiled and pampered brat, just like his father. Of course his family, even if they were muggles, is treating him just the same as everyone if not even more; they must be indulging him and fussing over his every need.

It is very obvious that the boy had snuck out –in spite of yesterday's scare- and landed himself in a muggle's fight. Unfortunately, his relatives were not around to tend for the boy and the order members are now stuck with playing nursemaid for the arrogant fool.

Severus mentally shook himself as he stepped out of his quarter's fireplace. Draco was nowhere in sight so he crossed the room until he reached the door of his guest room, that was Draco's for the time been, and knocked on the door twice. When he didn't receive an answer either times, he eased the door open and sought his godson. Seeing that his ward was fast asleep, Snape shut the door and with a sigh he decided to call it a night.

As he settled in bed, his thoughts turned to his godson once more. No, he most definitely won't be concerning himself with Potter. Draco should be his main concern for the time been. He could not forgive himself for failing to see the signs. First, Draco's withdrawal. Then, his tense –almost stiff- attitude the days after Lucius' _visits_, and the look of almost panic in the boy's eyes whenever he was informed of his father's presence in the castle. Finally, and the thing that made Snape actually aware of what was going on, was the night of the third task, when Draco joined his peers in the stand with the clear signs of the _Cruciatus_ after effect.

Snape felt the anger boil in him then and there, but he had to stomp on his rage for the time been because Lucius was there as were the whole school. He didn't want to do anything rush in front of either of them.

He didn't want to give Lucius any reasons to be angry, that would only serve to enrage the man even more in his future dealings with his son. And of course, he didn't want to do anything that would embarrass the young Slytherin in front of the whole school. Handling abused children was a delicate matter, after all, and who would know what to do better than a formally abused person.

Severus remembers spending most of the last task trying to figure out how to handle the situation. He was pulled out of his musing by the chaos that followed Diggory and Potter's disappearing. Then, of course, he had to abandon his planning to tend for the frightened crowed, specially his Slytherin.

But then the whole world felt cold as pain flared in his left forearm. _No! This can't be true… He can't be back! Not yet._ That was all he could think as the pain continued. Of course, he knew deep down that the Dark Lord would be back and soon judging by the dark mark's gradual reappearance, but he wasn't ready for it right this instance.

His felt his stomach drop as he raised his head and noticed the elder Malfoy's retreating back. Judging by his quick and brisk steps the man had felt the summon and was eager enough to join the Dark Lord's ranks once more.

He remembered making his way out of his first Death Eater's meeting in thirteen years mere hours after the Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade's station. He could see his fellow Death Eaters socializing after the meeting ended. When he saw Narcissa Malfoy approaching him he could feel his fears for Draco returning, but it was not like he could warn her about what her husband was doing at the moment. Right now, there was much worse things that could happen to Draco, namingly the current house guest of the Malfoys.

Narcissa greeted him politely albeit indifferently, he was actually impressed, she looked for the whole world as if having a megalomaniac as a house guest was the most natural thing in the world. But Severus knew. He knew that deep inside Narcissa was truly terrified. She was terrified for herself but more importantly she was terrified for her son's life. Because now that he is home, there was no doubted that he will have to come face to face with said megalomaniac sooner or later.

As they walked side by side through the manor's hallways they kept the conversation light. Trivial like the weather and Draco's grades kept popping up, but then Narcissa tripped. It was so very _un-Narcissa_ that Severus was reaching out to help her before he could help it.

"Get him out!" the witch's hiss was so quite that Snape almost didn't hear her.

And then she was standing up right, fixing her hair as if nothing had happened.

"Oh my, how embarrassing." She said in her normal indifferent voice. "Please forgive my clumsiness Severus." And then she was gone in long strides with her head held high.

Before he even thought about it, Severus found himself turning on his heel and heading toward the assembled Death Eaters. He didn't slow his pace until he saw Lucius, even though the elder Malfoy was speaking with two masked Death Eater, Severus merely wore his most famous sneer as he approached them. He was very satisfied as he saw the two unidentified Death Eaters scurry from him.

Although he didn't really know what he was going to say, he found himself talking as if he had planned the whole conversation ahead of time. He quietly informed Lucius that it wasn't for the Malfoys' best interest that the Dark Lord take notice of Draco right now. He wove some nonsense about Draco's inability to uphold the family's name at the moment and proposed to take the boy back with him to school under the false pretence that he needed additional potion tutoring. He even nodded his head in acceptance as Lucius asked him to use this time in preparing Draco to his ultimate meeting with the Dark Lord.

Severus closed his eyes in an effort to erase the look of utter terror that crossed the boy's eyes as he and Lucius entered the boy's room to inform him.

_The boy is safe now_. He told himself. _Well, he is safe for the moment._

And with that thought, the potion master drifted to sleep.

**A/N:** okay, so, what do you think? So far so good? I hope you enjoyed reading it.

And of course, leave me a review. Constructive criticism is highly acceptable and encouraged. =)


	4. Chapter 3: Under the shade of different

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore: I don't own Harry Potter. I write for fun, and I am not making any profit out of it.

**A/N:** okay folks, so there are some things that I have been meaning to point out in an (A/N) last chapter but, frankly, I forgot.

The first one is: I know that Harry and company actually ran into Draco in the forest during the DE's attack but given that this is an AU and it is a slightly darker one to boot, I don't find it hard to believe that Lucius would want Draco to participates in the DE's activity a little bit earlier than he did in the canon.

The second point is, although it wasn't on purpose, but was actually a slight over look on my part, I was told that Lucius was actually removed from the board of governors after the events of the CoS for threatening the other members. Again, giving the darker nature of this AU, I don't think it is a stretch if we said that threatening to curse your colleagues was not awfully frown upon, especially when the one who was casting the threats is a person as nasty and evil as our one and only, Lucius Malfoy. Knowing him, sacking the git would have landed the board of governors into more troubles and would have properly secured them that curse that they were promised.

That's all for now folks! Enjoy the chapter and tell me what do you thing?

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Under the shade of different light**_

Dudley woke up the day after the attack feeling very grouchy and with a head that felt like a tone of bricks. His throat hurt as well, probably from all the throwing up he did last night. He remembered the reason behind that and shuddered involuntary. God, those deme-thingies were horrible. Granted, he couldn't see them, but he could feel them none the less.

_***Flashback***_

He remembered feeling the coldness, a feeling like he will never fell warm again. He remembered the utter despair that he felt and how it seemed like he will never feel happy again. But most of all, he remembered running around like the coward that he was. Remembered trying to throw the blame on his cousin, not because he thought that Harry was the one causing those dreadful feelings, he could see his cousin's face after all. And Harry's face didn't show the panic of someone who started something and couldn't end it. No, his cousin's face showed the fear of someone who knows what was wrong but knew they couldn't stop it.

But Dudley blamed him anyway; he blamed him because what was going on was obviously something from Harry's world. When his cousin grabbed his arm and told him to stop, he knew that in any other situation, he would have been furious with Harry's commanding tone, but not in this particular situation, no, Harry was the expert here after all. He felt himself flinch –and cursed himself mentally for it- when Harry raised his arm and he could see the stick. But then Harry's grip on his arm disappeared and before he knew it something was grapping for him as well.

He felt like fighting whatever the hell that was and started to punch and kick the invisible attacker but couldn't tell if he was making a progress on that aspect or not- how do you fight something that you can't see anyway?

Then he felt oddly numb, his limps grew more and more heavy until all he could do is just lay there on the floor. He remembered the tightness in his chest increasing; felt like life itself was being sucked out of him. (A/N: if you only knew Dudley) Then images were rushing through his mind, one after the other, there speed kept increasing and he couldn't for the life of him see what any of them was about.

As he watched the blur of images going through his mind his thoughts kept turning to his cousin who was probably laying somewhere close going through the same thing that Dudley was going through. Because try as he might, he knew that his cousin won't save himself and leave Dudley to fend for himself, and deep down Dudley felt ashamed because he was sure that he would have run away and left Harry.

Everything after that was a little foggy. All he could remember was seeing something so bright out of the corner of his eyes that he had to squeeze his eyes shut or risk going blind. And even though he couldn't see what was going on, he could hear a strong _thud_ that announced the moment that the bright thing came crashing on his invisible attacker, and not a minute after, he could feel the hand on his throat disappear.

There were voices, people were talking, and he could hear his cousin's voice among them but couldn't tell what the smaller boy was saying. He tried to focus on what was being said, he needed to know who was talking with his cousin and if they would be attacked once more but the words kept evading him. The words from the real world kept mingling with the words from the images that were still running through his head. He tried so hard to figure out which was which and who was saying what but all his attempts had proven futile.

That was when he gave up, in a last attempt to shield himself from the blinding headache, he simply blocked everything out.

And then the voices changer, his cousin's voice was still there but he could also hear two familiar voices. His mum and dad, when did they come here? He could hear the arguing voices and even though he couldn't make out the particular words he knew beyond doubt that his parents were currently blaming Harry for what happened.

Yeah, they should blame him, right? It was his fault after all. But no, he didn't cause this to happened, did he? Well, even if he didn't, he still had his stick out and he knew better than to have it out… b-but, if he didn't have it out, how could he drove those things away? He was the one who drove them away, right? And he didn't have to help Dudley out, he could have just run, but he didn't.

Dudley tried to open his eyes and was rather startled when he discovered that they were already open. When did I open my eyes? Never mind that. He needing to express his thought to his parents, he needed to say that Harry didn't hurt him but rather saved him.

His father kept talking and so did his mother, saying various things about attackers and being mugged. His father kept asking him if he had used his boxing skills to fend the attackers and he desperately wanted to say that he wasn't the savior in tonight's events, he wanted his parents to know that Harry saved him but he had next to no energy and all he managed to do was to raise a finger in Harry's direction and says "Him."

Feeling the last of his energy leaving him he slumbered heavily against the back of the chair and was sure that he couldn't say anymore. Although, he wasn't sure what his parents were saying exactly at the moment of his declaration, he realized, too late, that what he said might not have been the best answer. As he saw his father whirling around to face his cousin he realized how exactly his parents interpreted his single word.

He tried to fix his mistake but both his parents were currently focused on his cousin. As he tried harder, he could feel bile rising at the back of his throat and then he was vomiting, _again_. Apparently, he vomited before, because there is a bucket full of vomit on his lap.

He felt like the whole world was fading from around him once more and, for a moment, he started to panic, thinking that he was being attacked again. But as he realized that there was no coldness and no despair, he started to relax a little. He felt so tired and it seemed like he could sleep for a thousand years, that's alright, he will sleep, just for a bit and then when he wakes up and have his energy back, he can tell his parents what really happened and fix this whole mess. There were voices and shouts but he will just ignore them all.

"…Owls…"

"…Ministry…expelled…"

"…justice…"

"…back…boy…talking…"

And then he was throwing up once more. There were a lot of noises, thundering footsteps on the stairs, _bangs_ and a lot, A LOT of _thuds_ and _thumps_. Then his father was talking with his mother and he really wanted to tell them that he wanted to sleep, and although he wasn't quite sure that he managed to say the words, he was glade to find both his parents helping him on his feet and into his room.

He was asleep before he was in his bed.

_***End of Flashback***_

Now that he was awake, Dudley needed to fix the whole situation with his parents and he was going to start this now. Just as he was leaving his bed, the door opened and in came his mother carrying a tray full of food.

"Diddy!" she asked as she hurried inside the room and landed the tray urgently on his bedside table before turning to him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting out of bed, mum." He said in irritation as he tried to escape the hands that kept on pushing him back into bed.

"No, you're not!" she replied stubbornly as she kept her hand firmly on his chest "you went through a horrible thing yesterday and you should rest." And with that she shoved the tray of food on his lap and looked at him with concern until he started eating.

"Okay, mum," he said around a mouthful of eggs, his mother's cooking was superb after all and he would be a fool to let it cool down "but what about Harry?"

An odd expression flickered through his mother's face before she regained a smile that she usually saves just for him.

"Don't worry Popkin," she said fiercely "that wicked boy won't hurt you again, daddy made sure of it."

"What?! No, no mum, he didn't hurt me!" he said as he shoved the tray away "That is what I have been trying to say yesterday, he _saved_ me!"

Fear and concern were the dominant emotions on his mother's face as she moved closer and put her hands on his forehead. "Are you still feeling sick honey? Do you think you are still under the effects of the… you know… the…" she waved her hands in the general direction of Harry's room as she struggled to finish the sentence.

"But he didn't, I just told you that!" he was really irritated now "Those things came upon us, and yeah I was pretty mad at the beginning because I though he was doing his… you know… funny t-thing, but he wasn't."

"Diddy! This is not something that you would say, please baby. Try to see." His mother looked really worried as she held his arm almost painfully "You only think that because of his nonsense." The woman was openly pleading by now.

"But mum, you have to believe me." He talked softly, also pleadingly now. "He did save me, I didn't see those things and I was running right into their arms or tentacles of what ever the fuck the use to hold people."

Seeing no response from his mother he carried on. "And then he used his… s-stic-ck, and he drove the one that was attacking me away even though he was being attacked as well.

"Mum, if it were me I would have left him there" his voice was a mere whisper now; he couldn't raise it any higher as he talked of his shame. But this seemed to shake his mother out of her silence.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of honey" she talked urgently as she engulfed him in a hug "You are normal! You wouldn't have been able to drive those abnormalities away."

"Yeah well" he said lamely as he approached his most important question "Still doesn't tell me why he helped me out?"

"He had too!" she said in a high pitched voice "After all we had done for him, after taking him in, putting a roof on his head, clothe on his back and food in his belly!"

"Really mum?" he asked as he lowered his head and watched his hand laying limply in his lap "Do you really believe that he should be grateful to us?"

"Dudders…" she started but didn't seem able to finish.

"We made his life miserable, really!" he continued as if she didn't talk "We ignored his needs, starved him and hurt him. But still we expected him to serve us and be on our every call and demand. This isn't really fair, you know. It is no wonder that he jumped on the first opportunity that offered him a little time away from us."

"So no mum, I don't think that he _had_ to save me. I actually think that it is rather strange that he did." Now that he had finished saying what he wanted, no needed, to say he finally looked up into his mother's eyes and was startled to see them suspiciously wet.

She stood up, carried the tray with one hand and patted his head with the other one gently then she turn and headed for the door. As she was almost out of the room, she sniffed twice before saying in a chocked voice "Stay in bed Dudley. Have some rest today and then we will talk." And then she was gone.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Half an hour after his mum left with his breakfast tray, she was back with swollen and suspiciously red eyes. Aside from that she was strangely normal, as composed as ever. She didn't say a word as she crossed the room to his desk, after some searching she approached his bed with his telly's remote control. She switched the telly on, flipped through the channels until she reached one of Dudley's favorite shows then handed the remote over to him before patting his arms lightly and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

"You stay rested, Diddy." She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and then she turned and left the room.

Dudley was really annoyed with the apparent bed-arrest that he found himself facing, he was seriously tempted to resist his mother's smothering, at least to go and check on his cousin and get the bit that he had been rehearsing since waking up out.

But he could not really bring himself to do that, especially after he saw his mother's red and swollen eyes. That was a side of his mother that he wasn't aware of. She was always composed. He remembered her going frantic and fussing over him anytime that he got so much as a knee scab, but this was a whole new level of the frantic business. Maybe it is because this time the problem was against something that neither of them could really understand.

He found his thoughts drifting back to his cousin and what he was going to say to him once his mother lifted the bed-arrest. He wasn't quite ready for apologizing, apologies were not his things. But he thought it wouldn't hurt him to acknowledge the unfairness of Harry's treatment in this house.

He knew that wasn't enough, he was not a fool. It was just that, well, he hoped that Harry won't be expecting much from him at the moment, he thought maybe he could work up the courage to admitting the extent of his involvement in those unfair treatments by the time his cousin join them for his next summer vacation.

Maybe by that time they would be able to set together and work through their issues, they won't be the best of friend; again, he wasn't a fool. He won't actually blame Harry if he chose not to see them again after he is of age. After what the boy have suffered on their hands, that was to be expected. But maybe after they talk, they could become enough of a family to keep in touch in the future.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

He didn't see his mother again until she delivered lunch, this time, unlike with the breakfast; she left the room as soon as she made sure he was settled comfortably to eat. She made up for her hasty retreat when she came to retrieve the tray after he finished. She kept fussing with his bedding and pillow, making sure that he was not too hot or too cold and adjusting the pillows so they were comfy behind his back as he was probed on the headboard. Swallowing his irritation, he allowed her to smother him to her heart desire.

Half an hour before his father was due back from work; his mother came back into the room and helped him to get dressed as if he was a child, she was muttering about hospitals and check ups. He fought her every step of the way feeling more and more embarrassed by the moment. Fine he got it, she was afraid for him after what he went through, but treating him like a bloody two years old kid was not helping.

When he had finally had enough and snapped at her, she left the room saying that she will check to see if his dad was home yet.

He finished getting ready just a couple of seconds before he heard he dad's car in the driveway. Feeling anxious to get it over with so that his mother would release him from the forced bed rest he found himself making his way out of the room in a second. As he passed his cousin's door in the hallway, he found himself pausing. Would Harry need to see a doctor as well?

He stopped to wonder, will those thing have a different effect on Harry? Does it make a difference if he was nor- err, with no magi-… humph! Is there a difference for people like Harry? Come to think of it, would that mean that Harry can't be treated by their doctors? Does he have to go for his kind of doctors?

After a couple of minutes of silent debate in front of his cousin's door he decided that it would be best not to bother him now. He didn't want to go through any rushed conversation now that might upset the younger boy and ultimately ruin the conversation that he kept rehearsing since he woke up. No, best to keep the first confrontation between them after the attack for tomorrow's morning.

With that thought in mind, Dudley harried down stairs to join his parents.

Two hours later, the Dursleys were sitting in one of their favorite restaurants enjoying an-all-clear medical check celebration. For the first time, Dudley noticed how rotten of them it was to exclude his cousin of all their celebrations. He was attacked as well, after all. In fact, he was the main reason that Dudley just received an-all-clear.

Truth be told, he was quite out of it yesterday. But there were talks about souls and stuff when Harry explained to Dudley's parents about the attack. He didn't really understand what that meant but he was quite sure that he wanted his soul well. And it wouldn't have been well had the deme-thingies succeeded in their attacks.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Dudley awoke the next morning feeling well rested. The day looked bright and sunny. The temperature was perfect, not too warm but not cold either. Yes, today was perfect, the perfect day for resolving a life long animosity, starting a new leaf and leaving the past behind. Dudley left his bedroom and heading for the bathroom while shaking his head and stiffing a laugh, he felt a little bit sappy back there.

After he showered and changed, Dudley left his room and stood at the top of the stair listening silently to make sure that his mum was still busy in the kitchen before he went to his cousin's room.

He eyed the locks warily and made a mental note to talk to his dad about them. He still didn't know what his father's reaction would be toward the whole thing, he didn't know how to approach the conversation last night with either of his parents, but he was hoping that they would respect his decision and maybe in the future they would conceder talking the same road.

As he laid hand on the first lock he was pleasantly surprised to find it open. He knew that sometimes his parents forget to lock his cousin. However, deep down he was hoping that this was not an over look but a conscious decision. Maybe yesterday after he went to bed his parents decided to let Harry off the hook. They had after all seen for themselves that Dudley was okay. He checked the rest of the locks and found them all open, something that was lifting his spirit more and more by the minute.

Taking a deep breath, Dudley laid a hand on the door knob but decided that knocking would help him convince Harry of his wish for a clean slate.

Smiling slightly to himself, Dudley knocked twice on his cousin's room trying to imagine Harry's shock for the first ever polite knocking on his door. He was not surprised when he got no answer. Harry was either to shock to answer or he might actually not have heard it. After all, Harry's only experience of knocking in this house is of loud and rapt thundering on the door that is usually associated with one of the Dursleys' shout for him to get starting on the breakfast.

After five more minutes of knocking produce no change, Dudley decided to enter now and inform his cousin after their talk that he will be knocking from now on. Taking another deep breath, he tried to draw his most unthreatening facial expression, hopping that it worked; he finally turned the door knob and pushed the door open.

What awaited him was a scene out of those bloody horror movies that Piers loved so much. It was not the fact that the desk was pushed away from its original place, the chair was toppled or that there was a freakin' floor board from God knows where laying on the bed which had scrambled bedding at that. It was the fact that there was an alarmingly big reddish-brown stain that took up most of the space between the bed and the pushed desk.

He took a shaky step into the room trying to make since of the scene, and trying desperately to push down the panic that was starting to set in. His cousin wasn't here, Harry wasn't here! Why wasn't he bloody here?

"Mum!" his voice came out as a strangled whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again "Mum!" but all that came was a hoarse word that was barely audible.

Feeling pretty frustrated with himself, he cleared his throat again and half-yelled, half-screamed "MUM!"

"Coming, popkin." She called back and he could hear here moving down stairs as she made her way toward him.

What happened? Bloody hell! I knew I should have asked him to come to the doctor with us. Those things clearly hurt him much more worst that they did me. Was that the reason behind mum's strange behaviors yesterday? Did she notice Harry's injury? Why didn't she say anything? Could we have reached his friends? Maybe they could have helped him with their m-mag…? But where is he?

"Where are you, Diddy?" he heard his mother's ask from across the hall, probably looking for him in his room.

"In here mum" he answered softly; he didn't think he could talk any louder at the moment.

He heard his mother's sharp intake of breath as she realized where he was.

"DUDLEY!" she hissed "What are yo…" but she didn't complete the sentence as she took a good look at the room.

"We should have look out for him, now he is badly hurt and we don't know what happened to him!" he was mumbling to himself more than to his mother, he couldn't take his eyes away from the pool of dried blood.

He was aware of his mother moving around the room franticly looking under the bed and desk and inside the closet as if Harry was going to jump out from one of those places saying: _fooled ya!_ He almost wished that he would.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" he could hear his mother's frantic voice. "They took him! They came and took him? And they saw! Oh God! We are so dead."

He turned sharply to look at his mother not really knowing what to make out of her rant.

"Mum! What the hell?" he snapped, but she didn't answer him. She turned on her heel and left the room.

He followed her to the kitchen where he found her sitting on the table looking torn between being worried and relieved.

"Mum?" he inquired again.

He received the surprise of his life when she latched on him, burying her face in his chest as he stood awkwardly by her chair and started to sob and mumbled hysterically. He was seriously scared, aside from her red and swollen eyes yesterday; he had never seen his mother in anything less than full composure. _What the hell happened?_

"… trying to save the family… didn't know what to do… lily must be rolling in her grave… I am so sorry… should have… kill me… son…too late…" were the occasional words that he could make out of his mother's murmur.

Figuring that he might never know what the hell happened, at least not with his mother in this state, he settled on patting her shoulders awkwardly until she detached herself from him and headed to the bathroom.

He headed up stairs and found himself entering his cousin's room without a conscious thought. He took a look around the room trying to really see it for the first time since his parents gave it to Harry all those years ago.

He was surprised that there were almost no changes in the room since he used it as his toy's graveyard all those years ago. The toys were still there, broken and useless in anything but taking up a great deal of space out of the already small room. The desk stood oddly bare, no books, notebooks, papers, pencils, pens or anything that might suggest that the desk was in use. The open door of the closet showed the crocked and broken shelves that were testimony for the few article of clothe that used to take nothing more than the small space provided by the lone unbroken shelf.

He didn't even need to look to the children's bed to see how lumpy and uncomfortably small it must be for his cousin, even with Harry's short and skinny stature, the bed must feel like a match box.

He leaned down unconsciously and pulled the fallen chair up. As he was straightening again he noticed that there was something under the bedside table. He reached down and pulled it up, finding a picture frame with cracked glass. The cracked glass didn't hide the occupants of the photo who were dancing around under the autumn fallen leaves.

With a start he dropped the frame as he realized that the couples were actually dancing, as in moving around in the frame. They were moving! Bloody hell! Their pictures actually movies!

"Dudley?" Came his mother's almost tame voice from the doorway as he picked the picture back up and stared at it intently.

"Just like the telly" he whispered, mesmerized, as he kept his eyes on the couples. Now that he was noticing details he could see his cousin's untamed black hair on the male and then the man faced him and he was shocked to see how much he looked like Harry. With a start, he realized that the man was Harry's father, and if he was his father then this must be Harry's mother. As if she could hear his thought, the woman turned to face him and he found himself staring at a duplicate of his cousin's bright green eyes.

The woman kept still and it was as if she was staring at him just like he was staring at her, and he found himself drawn into this woman's eyes. This was his aunt! She was a taboo topic around this house, not that he had actually asked anything about her before, but he had often watched as one of his parents gave his cousin a trashing for any simple inquiry that revolved around her.

"Dudley?" this time his mother's voice was so close and he was startled as he looked up and found her standing right beside him. She took one look at the object in his hand and then sat heavily on the lumpy bed. She reached out a hand and he realized that she wanted the frame.

He gave it to her but sat quietly next to her as he sensed that maybe the topic was not as tabooed as it used to be and felt the urge to ask about his long dead aunt.

"Is she- " he started but she cut him off.

"Lily, yes, she was Harry's mother." She replied in a whisper. "She was my sister."

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

A/N: okay, I know that there might be some slight confusion regarding the time line of the events of the fan fiction so far, so I am going to do a brief outline here for past events and will make sure to clarify any future one from now on. :D

Dementors attack – 2nd of August, around 9 p.m. (that is actually inline with the canon)

Vernon's killing attempt – same night in less than an hour after the attack.

Dudley waking up – 3rd of August, 10 a.m.

The order receiving the bloody note - 3rd of August, around 7 p.m.

Harry's rescue (the Dursley's celebration dinner) - 3rd of August, around 8:30 p.m.

Dudley discovering Harry's empty room – 4th of August, 10 a.m.


	5. Chapter 4: Plans in motion

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore: I don't own Harry Potter. I write for fun, and I am not making any profit out of it.

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Plans in motion**_

_(3__rd__ of August, 11:30 p.m.)_

Lucius Malfoy lowered his glass of brandy to the armrest of his chair as he observed the man setting in front of him. He knew all about Yaxley's efforts for power climb. The man was a notorious boot licker; he would do anything to please if he knew that it would move him along the chain of command.

But Lucius also knows that the man won't do anything that would threaten his current position in the Dark Lord's ranks. This means that the news that he came bearing is most probably true.

Lucius have to admit that he was annoyed when the man pulled him aside for a private word after the Death Eater's meeting ended half an hour ago. But right now, he was thrilled! –Internally of course, wouldn't do to let the man know how valuable his information is.

"So, someone in the ministry is keeping an eye on the boy?" Lucius drawled as he observed the man setting on the other side of his desk.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy." Yaxley answered in the most imperious voice that he could master, but the man couldn't hide how nervous he was "As you know, the Potter boy is not on the ministry's good side at the moment, and _someone_ in a high position is keeping an eye on him."

Lucius was aware of the emphasis on the '_someone'_, and he noticed with annoyance that Yaxley actually knew who that person was. Wanting to keep the man in line and maybe even rattle him a bit for thinking that he can make Lucius drag the information out of him bit by bit, he merely looked at the man in disinterest as he spoke the next words.

"As _valuable_" he spat the word with obvious distaste "as you might think this information is, I can assure you that it isn't actually of any use to us."

"B-but…" Yaxley looked rattled alright, but Lucius merely looked at him in disgust.

"Stutter at your own time, this meeting is over" Lucius said as he drowned the last of his brandy and slammed it on his desk, and then he made to stand up before Yaxley finally spoke again.

"But, Mr. Malfoy, we can use this person, you know, gain their alliance. The more people working against the boy, the better it is for us, right?" Yaxley said is a rush, trying to gain Lucius' interest once more.

"And how, pray tell, do you suppose we do that?" Lucius asked as he looked down his nose at the cowering man.

"I know who ordered the surveillance" Yaxley admitted with a hint of bitterness as he said the next words "My position in the ministry is not high enough for anymore snooping around. If she caught me, it might cost me my job"

Yaxley didn't come out and say it, but Lucius understood what he was implying none the less. Yaxley's position as a mere ministry worker was not high enough, but Lucius' high position in the wizarding world was. Lucius didn't voice his thoughts; he merely kept his gaze on the other man until he spoke again.

"Her name is Dolores Umbridge" Yaxley continued "she is the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic."

"Yes," Lucius said as he remembered the fake-sweet smile on the face of the short and plumped power hungry witch. "I know who she is."

Lucius walked around his desk and headed to the door of his study, signaling the end of the meeting. He could see the irritation on Yaxley's face at the obvious dismissal.

"Mr. Malfoy…" he started but Lucius cut him off.

"As you said, Yaxley, your position is not high enough." Lucius said with the most imposing voice he could muster for the fool "So, why don't you leave this matter for those who can handle it."

Yaxley scowled at the obvious jab but headed to the door anyway.

"The Dark Lord will be made aware of your efforts, of course." Lucius said as an after thought as he watched the man leave his office "I am sure that you will be rewarded adequately depending on the out come of this information"

This was both a promise and a warning. A promise, if he continued to bring useful information. But also, a warning, if that information turned out to be useless.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(4__th__ of August, 8:00 a.m.)_

Dolores Jane Umbridge sat in her office, drinking her cup of tea with a smile. She was, after all, a very happy witch. Granted, her original plan to set the dementors on the boy and get it over with was not a great success. But there was also the fact that the boy used under aged magic to fend them off and in front of a muggle no less, that was something that landed him in a great deal of troubles. After all, in the hearing, who would believe him when he says that he was fighting dementore, _dementors!_

But she was a resourceful witch, and after that little set back in Surrey, she won't lay all her ingredients in one cauldron, no, that won't be wise. Sure, she hopes that the boy would be found guilty after the hearing, but she still had to set a backup plan, just in case.

Her plan consisted of keeping an eye on the boy from now till the hearing, of course it took her sometime to make sure that all 'watchers' were trusted. But never mind that, they don't have to keep watch anymore now that the boy was moved. At least, they got to find a valuable piece of information before he was taking from under her eyes.

The boy was moved, taken actually. He didn't leave. He wasn't escorted out of the house. No, he was taken, as in carried out of the house. She wasn't sure if he was hurt, sedated or merely asleep at the time, but she knew that if all else failed; she still has a card to play.

She hummed softly to herself as she went back to her cup of tea with a satisfied smile.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(4__th__ of August, 8:30 a.m.)_

Harry was having the strangest feeling that he had ever encountered. He wasn't sure if he was standing, sitting or laying. It sure as hell felt like floating. The fact that his eyes won't cooperate and kept firmly shut was not helping one bit. This feeling of disorientation was really frustrating.

Was he dead? Well, he wasn't in the blinding pain that he was in before, but he wasn't pain-free either. Was he in the in-between world? Does that mean that he was closer to death now than he was when his aunt's movements in his room woke him? But no, it didn't feel like it! He remembers something else, he was talking to someone, and he was told that they would get him out of Private Drive. And then there was shouting, yes, people were arguing, saying stuff about potions and healing spells.

Damn it! Why can't he open his eyes and see for himself where he was? After a couple of minutes of trying he gave up. Maybe he could use his other senses and try to figure out what the hell happened.

The first thing that he tried was his sense of surroundings, and boy was it good to finally figure out that he was in fact laying down. Yes, he was on a bed, and it felt so good! It wasn't a Gryffindor four poster bed by any means but it was a whole lot better than laying on the floor of Private Drive, hell it was much better than his actual bed there.

Then he was aware of a very soothing touch on his head. Humm, this feel so good. The hand kept a continual movement in his hair and he never wanted it to stop, but he really needed to open his eyes and see who his caretaker was.

After some more struggling, he was finally able to open his eyes, just a fraction. Oh great, how did he forget that he was practically blind without his glasses. All he could see was a dark, blurry figure at the edge of his vision. Then the patting stopped and he wanted to protest but couldn't find the energy to do so. He could see the figure moving until it was in full view. But still, it was blurry and unrecogniesable.

"Oh my dear boy!" a very familiar voice said with so much relief that Harry was concerned for the voice owner "It is so good to see you awake." The voice said with a sob.

"How do you feel?" the voice owner asked but all he could mange in respond was a pitiful moan.

"It is alright, dear, you don't need to answer now" the darkness was starting to pull at him again and his eyes were dropping "Don't worry, honey, you are safe now. That's okay you need your rest, just close your eyes and sleep"

No, it was not alright! He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to stay awake and ask what was going on! He wanted to know how he ended up here with Mrs. Weasley. That right! That was Mrs. Weasley, and he wanted to stay with her. The woman represented everything that was motherly and Harry desperately needed a mother right now.

"That is okay, dear" she said as she resumed stroking his hair.

He wanted to ask her to stay but all that came out of his mouth was a whimper and he was so ashamed of how weak and needy he was but it didn't seem to bother the kind witch.

"You can rest now, Harry. Everything is alright, you are not alone." She answered his silent plea as if she could read his mind and he couldn't fight the pull of darkness anymore.

The last thing that he was aware of was a pair of lips on the crown of his head and moisture on his forehead right above his brows.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Molly Weasley could not help herself, the moment the boy's eyes closed again she just let go of her tears, dumping the boy's hair, forehead and brows.

It wasn't more than a couple of minutes after the boy's breathing evened out that the door opened and Sirius Black joined her once more. The man smiled sadly at her before he moved to reclaim his seat on the other side of Harry's bed. After sitting down, he took a side glance at his friend's slumbered form in the seat beside him and sighed.

She watched as Sirius leaned forward and took his godson's hand in his. For all of her fights with the man and all her negative thoughts about his usual child-like behaviors, she couldn't not admire him for what she saw in him since Remus brought Harry here last night. Yes he was mad with revenge but he was also frantic with worry. Both he and Remus spent the whole night beside Harry's bed.

She spent the night with them as well, but she had to leave every now and then to make sure that none of the kids were wondering around the house. She wanted to make sure that she will have an opportunity to talk with the kids before they saw Harry like this. She wasn't sure how they could handle their friend's appearance now but she knew that they won't rest till they could see him.

She looked back at the two old friends and smiled sadly. Remus was exhausted, the last full moon was a couple of days ago after all, but he refused to leave. He only fell asleep an hour ago. It was around that time that she told Sirius to have some rest as well, after much argument; he finally left the room but not to sleep, no, because he just walked in right now, no more than half an hour after he left. Judging from his change of close and his dump hair, he merely took a shower to wake himself up before he re-joined her.

She had half a mind to scold him and send him up to bed like one of her kids. Speaking of the kids!

She hurriedly stood up and told Sirius that she will go downstairs to start breakfast before she bolted out of the room. She remembered to lock and ward Harry's room before she descended the stairs. This was something that she talked about with the two friends during the night. They would keep the room warded so that no-one can enter it without one of them as an escort. They wanted to make sure that the poor dear was not overwhelmed before he was ready.

Just as she finished making breakfast, she started to hear the movements that announced the preparation for a new day drifting from the kids' rooms. She sat down on the table with a cup of tea as she waited for them to join her, but the first one to enter the kitchen was not one of the kids, but rather Sirius Black.

The man looked dead on his feet and he was almost shuffling –not walking- around the kitchen.

"Sirius…" she started but he cut her off with a raised hand, simply telling her that there was no use in anything that she might say.

She watched him silently as he tapped the pot of coffee with his wand and moved around the kitchen sitting his mug and spoon ready. As they waited for the pot to boil, he looked up at her and smiled tiredly.

"I was finally able to force Remus out of the room," he said lightly "He is currently resting in his bed."

He was silent for a moment as he reached for the pot and started pouring his coffee but then he carried on.

"The last full moon was not kind to him, he needed his rest" he said as he stirred his coffee, then he looked up and barked a laugh as he saw the look that she was giving him. "I know, I know and I'll sleep as well. I just wanted to make sure that Harry is okay." He finished softly.

"I'll go up now, don't want him to wake up alone and panic." He said and started to head toward the stairs after her nod.

"Oh dear lord!" she said hurriedly, catching the ex-convict's attention. "I am so sorry Sirius! I forgot to tell you. But he wake up while you were showering."

"He did!" the man was standing beside her in a flash.

"Yeah, he didn't seem really awake, he was rather sleepy" she said, then harried to assure the man as she saw his panic rising "Which is perfectly normal, given all the pain potions and sleep draught that he was giving yesterday."

"Oh thank Merlin!" Sirius seemed to deflate with relief right in front of her, and then his head snapped up to her "That is good, right?"

"Yes it is" she hurriedly assured the distraught man "He seemed quite tense at the beginning, I think because he didn't know what was going on, but then he relaxed after I assured him that he was safe"

"That is good, that's good." He said then he turned and headed toward the stairs "I'll go to him now; I want to be there when he wakes up next time."

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(4__th__ of August, 9:00 a.m.)_

The house was eerily quiet when Ronald Weasley first left his room, and he was determined to keep it that way. If his mum found out that he was awake already, she would drag him all the way downstairs to the kitchen and he was not ready for all of her fussing that would only mean that something was being kept from them.

He was really tired, seeing that he didn't sleep a wink all night, but he was firm on his mission, he will find out what was going on yesterday. The chaos of yesterday didn't end with them being ungracefully kicked out of the kitchen when they were supposed to eat dinner, it didn't also end when his mother insisted that they all eat in their rooms and then sent them to bed right after dinner like some 10 years old.

No, the real chaos started after that. There was a constant movement downstairs all night long. Every time Ron gathered up his courage and was about to sneak downstairs to see what the hell was going on, he found his mother '_checking'_ on him. That was rather frustrated. But the voices were gone for a couple of hours now and the house was silent. Plus, if his mother caught him now she can't send him up to bed, it was almost time for breakfast after all.

A movement behind him froze him to the spot, but then he recognized the bushy haired witch that was sneaking behind him, creeping actually, just like he was.

"Blimey, Hermione, you scared the crap outta me!" he hissed as she approached him.

"Shush Ronald!" she hissed back "if you mother caught us we won't be able to see Harry"

"So you really think he is here?" he asked

"Well, yes. Your mother actually said that he will be here by the time we wake up" she answered back "I didn't actually sleep. I think he was here a little bit after we went to bed." She said this as she moved in front of him and started leading the way downstairs.

After descending the stairs she looked around for a minute before heading to the door furthest down the hall. "The voices sounded from this direction all night long. And it is actually one of the only rooms that we had finished cleaning in this floor." And with that she opened the door and disappeared into the room.

"Damn it! 'mione!" he hissed but followed her none the less.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

When Sirius entered the room a couple of minutes later, he found two frozen teens standing at the foot of his godson's bed.

"Shoot!" he hissed "I forgot to ward and lock the door, Molly is going to kill me."

The teens didn't seem to notice him yet so he decided to go and have a seat so that he can wait for them to come out of their shock. After a quick glance toward his and Remus' empty seats, he headed to the opposite side of Harry's bed and claimed Molly's seat instead. After cradling his cup, he re-claimed one of Harry's hands in his own and sat to drink his coffee.

Hermione was the first to move; she walked the short distance around Harry's bed and claimed his other hand.

"What happened to him?" Ron was the one to ask.

"We don't know yet, we are waiting for him to wake up and tell us" he deliberately omitted their guess. Not just because it might not be true, but also because it might be.

If it were true, then he was sure that Harry won't like waking up to find that everyone is aware of it. Abuse victims always protect the fact that they were abused like their lives depended on it, he knew he did. But he also knew that his life became so much easier after James and the others discovered his secret. It was great to have someone to talk to, if not for anything else.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hermione asked.

"We think so, yes." He answered.

"But you are not sure?" she asked

_Damn it, smartest witch of her age alright!_ He winced. _She was actually analyzing every word I say. Just like Remus used to do when we were in school. But Remus was the one who discovered my secret, does that mean that she is aware of what might have happened to Harry?_

He looked up to see both teens were now seated and looking expectantly at him. "No, we aren't." he said, but then hurried to add when he saw their panicked looks. "But we are hopeful; he actually woke up for a couple of seconds some time ago."

"He did?" Ron's voice was one of relief.

"I wasn't here when he did" he explained "But Molly said that he relaxed when she talked to him."

"That is good" Hermione said as both teens nodded and then turned their attention to their friend's prone figure.

None of them noticed Molly as she stood in the doorway; she simply sighed and left them, but came back ten minutes later with a tray of food.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(4__th__ of August, 10:00 a.m.)_

To say that Dolores was surprised when her secretary told he that, Lucius Malfoy, one of the most prominent and influential figures in their society, was requesting a meeting with her, would be an understatement.

She hurriedly told the incompetent fool to let him in as she fixed her hair and smoothed her robes.

The elegant man stepped inside her office and greeted her politely before he took her hand and kissed it.

"Madam Undersecretary." He said with a nod "I hope you are well."

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy." She answered him back as she indicated the chair in front of her desk "Please, have a seat. It is such an honor to have you here in my office."

"The honor is all mine, Madam." Lucius said as he gracefully sat on the offered chair.

Fifteen minutes later, all the pleasantries were exchanged and Lucius sat with a cup of too sweet tea looking at the witch with interest as he approached the reason of his visit.

As the discussion carried on, Lucius was surprised to find just how much the plump witch hated the boy. It wasn't anything personal, after all, the witch never actually laid eye on him.

It was apparent that the witch took any threats toward her beloved Cornelius as a personal threat. This was something that he could use, after all, every ministry worker knew that Cornelius and Lucius shared the same interests throughout the years- AKA: Lucius was Cornelius' puppeteer.

A whole hour later, Lucius left Umbridge's office with a satisfied smile. His plan was sit into motion. Granted, this was but the first step but that didn't change the face that the boy will be in his clutches in less than a week. That is, if everything went as it was supposed to. Either way, he was sure that the Dark Lord will be glade when Lucius inform him of the plan this evening.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(4__th__ of August, 11:00 p.m.)_

Lord Voldemort sat on his throne in the Malfoys' drawing room with his fingers linked in front of him as he watch said man's bowed head. He could see the man cowering in fear as he waited for his verdict and decided to have mercy on him. He chuckled lightly at his thought, for mercy was not one of his traits. However, it wasn't unknown for him to show it sometimes toward one of his most faithful servants, and Malfoy, for the moment, had earned as much.

"Stand up, Lucius" he finally told the kneeling man. "The plan seems… humm… sensible enough, you may continue it, for the time been."

"Thank you, my lord." Lucius said gratefully, albeit with pride for gaining the Dark Lord's approval.

"Of course, you know the price for failing to achieve what you promised" Voldemort purred to his servant and smiled as he saw the man shuddering in front of him.

"Yes," Lucius said then he cleared his throat "Yes, of course, my lord."

"Good, good." Voldemort said as he waved his dismissal "Keep me updated."

"Yes, my lord." Were Lucius' final words as he backed away out of the room.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(5__th__ of August, 8:30 a.m.)_

Lucius Malfoy looked up onto the slim but tall building that was standing in the middle of the muggle street is Surrey with distaste.

It took him a while to finally find the damn thing but he wasn't about to complain, seeing that this was the only way that he could reach the man. He entered the spacious reception area and headed toward the receptionist. She was setting behind a large desk and had the word _Grunnings _in big letters on the wall behind her.

"Good morning, sir." She said with a fake smile as she eyed his clothe warily "How may I help you."

"I wish to see Mr. Vernon Dursley" he answered her with a sneer.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

_(5__th__ of August, 10:00 a.m.)_

Vernon Dursley hurried, almost skipped, out of _Grunnings' _building. He was on cloud nine. He could not believe that he was about to gain revenge on his freak of a nephew, and not just that! He will be making profit out of it.

The first feeling that flew through him as he saw one of his nephew's kind walking through his door was anger, but that was quickly replaced by fear as he remembered what he had done to the boy a couple of days ago. Thinking that he was about to be punished, he started babbling things about it being the boy's fault and throwing the blame on a fictional gang that the boy had joined.

He was startled when the man said with what looked like disappointment, "Pity and I thought that I could interest you with a mutual agreement."

He listened with a rapidly increasing interest as the man described how the brat was causing troubles in their world just like he was doing in Vernon's own house.

Apparently, the boy had joined a rebel group and was opposing the authorities and wreaking havoc. The man explained that the only way to _silence_ the boy –the man's own words- once and for all, is by taking him from those rebels who are protecting him. However, this can't be done unless Vernon himself or Petunia, as the boy's legal guardians, were to disapprove of the boy's association with those rebels.

Vernon's smile widened as he entered the police station and headed to the nearest officer. He tried to force the most parental expression on his face before coughing to draw the man's attention.

"How can I help you, sir?" the officer asked as he looked at him.

"I would like to report a kidnap." Vernon answered with a concerned voice.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

Two hours later, found Dolores Umbridge filing an appeal to the Wizengamot. In the papers, she pointed out that the ministry was recently informed of Harry Potter's relatives reporting him missing and possibly kidnapped.

The witch listed in details the conversation that went between one Vernon Dursley and herself, as she went to investigate the claims herself.

She described how the man appeared to be afraid for his nephew's safety and how he was concerned about a group of people who seemed to be in continued contact with the boy. Mr. Dursley said that the group appeared to be brainwashing his charge and how he might be held with them against his well.

Because of the concerns of Harry Potter's family, Dolores Umbridge pleaded with the Wizengamot to start taking the necessarily steps to place a locating spell on the young man, in hopes that they can reach him in time, before this group manage to brainwash him completely and start using him against the society.

Her appeal was filed as an urgent matter, with the hopes that they can return the boy to the safety of his family's house as soon as possible.

_**XOXOXOXOX**_

**A/N:** In the story, I am hoping to view this locator spell as a highly illegal spell that can only be used by the ministry officials and only after the Wizengamot approval. It is typically used only against wanted criminals and in some cases the family of a missing child can appeal for the Wizengamot if they want it used to find the child.


End file.
